Lycanthrope
by Aggiepuff
Summary: When a new villain with a horrifying power emerges in the city of Townsville,it is up to our girls to stop this seemingly unstoppable lethal menace. Could the only hope of destroying it be a new hero who will reveal the girls' hidden powers? FINISHED!
1. Prologue: Phenomenon

Prologue: Phenomenon

By Hailey T. (Aggiepuff)

Huge waves crashed violently into the jagged rocks below an overhanging cliff. Atop the cliff was an old condemned factory, creaking and groaning as the harsh winds and heavy rain blew against it. An old sign hung lightly over the door and was being whipped around in the stinging wind and rain. Its writing having faded, one could barely make out the words 'Powerpuff Girls Xtreme Industries. Property of the Dick Hardly Co.'

The inside was nothing more than a dark metal cave. The walls, floor and ceiling were all grey, dusty, and charred black; evidence that some sort of explosion had occurred long ago. Old machines that were once alive and working, were now only twisted heaps of metal collecting cobwebs. Broken flasks of chemicals littered the half-standing tables, and only a few remained intact. Broken windows lined the walls, but they provided little light on this dark and gloomy evening.

In one violent push from the wind, the whole building began to rock to one side, and several of the boards that supported its ever weakening foundation upon the shaky cliff rocks, began to creak and snap. The whole building groaned in protest, machines screeched and clanked as they leaned, and tables toppled over, sending several bottles of mysterious chemicals to the floor. Two in particular hit the floor and shattered, one spilling a gooey black substance and the other spilling a sticky white substance all over the dirty floor. Instantly they reacted with each other, bubbling and fizzing as they oozed slowly across the ground, seeping dangerously close to some old frayed electrical wires.

As yet another burst of wind and rain blew fiercely into the old factory, it whipped around the old electric wires, tossing some sparks and throwing them into the pool of black and white ooze. Instantly an enormous chemical reaction occurred. The wires began to send off even more bright sparks at the sudden movement, and quickly the black and white puddle caught flame and began to fizz and crackle. The wires were also ignited, and, in a matter of time, the whole area was in a blaze. The wires shot more and more sparks, whipping around like giant gray snakes, shooting high voltage electric currants through the pool of chemicals.

After only a few moments, the flames around the chemicals suddenly began to glow a bright red, and the smoke became a deadly black. The flames grew even larger, and suddenly a huge explosion filled the factory. Although it was too far away for anyone to hear, it created a deafening blast that shook the unsteady foundation, and sent several cliff rocks hurdling into the sea below.

An eerie silence hung around the building and the only trace of anything unusual was the gray wisps of smoke coming from the now completely shattered windows. All the flames had somehow disappeared. The only evidence left was the black and white mixture of chemicals, which was now throbbing with a red, fiery glow and shooting out little lightning bolts all around it. It radiated a strange evil energy, which almost seemed to be alive.

It began to expand across the floor in all directions, growing very quickly until it stopped suddenly. Very slowly it began to sink into the middle and gradually grow upwards, forming into a figure as it seemed to crawl forwards and upwards toward the door. It grew until it was human sized, and laid on its hands and knees, and then it slowly raised itself up and stood upright, its mysterious figure hidden in the darkness.

Once the metamorphosis was complete, the creature stood still for a moment. Suddenly in a blast of invisible energy, the door burst down, and the violent wind and rain blew inside. A blinding lightning flash illuminated the entire building, creating a silhouette of the monstrosity. It was unnaturally tall, with unhumanly long, sharp fingers. Once the light had vanished a large crash of thunder sounded as its two glowing red eyes emerged in the darkness. The strange creature slowly took a few steps outside, and then scanned the surrounding area with its evil red eyes, setting its sights on a twinkling city skyline off in the distance.

In an instant it had vanished, its intentions for this little city unknown. The stormy clouds had suddenly vanished, and a calm breeze had begun to blow through the broken windows, creating a ghostly howl that echoed throughout the factory. The broken glass from the chemical bottles glittered in the now visible moonlight. And one was clearly marked with the letter X.


	2. Chapter 1: Shattered Diamonds

Howdy everyone! Just a little thank youfor the reviews, glad you enjoy it so far. I've been wanting to write a fic for a long time, but I've never done it til now. This idea just popped in my head one day and I decided to go for it. Thanks for the encouragement guys!

So anyways.. before I go off on a tangent..

On with the fic!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls and all that good stuff :P

Chapter 1:

Shattered Diamonds

* * *

It had been a strangely quiet day in the city of Townsville. This sleepy, relaxed setting was a striking change from the usual chaos and destruction that plagued this unfortunate little city. But as the evening hours approached, ominous black clouds began to loom over Pokey Oaks County and a chill hung in the air.

Things were very quiet in the humble Utonium home as well. Professor Utonium sat in his big recliner, smoking a pipe, reading the paper, enjoying the warmth of his living room, and most of all cherishing a rare moment of peace with his girls. Blossom sat on the sofa, relaxing and reading a book alongside her father, while Buttercup sat on the floor, seemingly glued to the TV.

"TV Puppet Pals! TV Puppet Pals!" Just as expected, minutes before seven o'clock, Bubbles came bouncing down the stairs singing her daily chant, her trademark grin upon her young face.

The Professor chuckled as he got up from his chair and went into the kitchen. He returned shortly with the usual big bowl of popcorn and a smile. Bubbles squealed and stuffed a handful of popcorn in her mouth. Buttercup and Blossom joined her, and soon a battle ensued over the possession of the tasty snack. The Professor laughed thoughtfully and continued reading the paper.

A still quiet fell over the room when the theme song began playing and then Bubbles began to sing along in a high-pitched, off-key voice. Buttercup rolled her eyes and groaned while Blossom and the Professor smothered a laugh.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately for some) this moment of family togetherness was short-lived. They had only been watching for a minute or two when the hotline phone once again began buzzing in protest. Blossom groaned and answered it.

"Yes Mayor?... A robbery? ... We're on our way!" She hung up with a sigh.  
"Come on girls.. We'd better go.." Blossom said reluctantly and the girls once again flew off into town.

Professor Utonium sighed, switched off the TV and sat alone in the darkness. Why couldn't they just have been a normal family?

* * *

"Soo.. Which place was hit this time?" Buttercup asked.

"The mayor said it was a small jewelry store on the other side of town... I think I know where it is..." Blossom said with an exasperated sigh.  
"Can we hurry up? I wanna be back before Puppet Pals is over!" Bubbles whined.  
Just as soon as these words were spoken, a downpour of rain fell from the dark clouds above.  
"Great.. Just great.." Buttercup complained.  
"Don't worry, a little rain never hurt anybody." Blossom said as she tried to ignore the fact that it was becoming increasingly harder to see where she was going.  
"We'll just take it slow, that's all." Blossom said as she cautiously led Bubbles and Buttercup blindly into the rainy night.

* * *

After much searching, the girls finally came across a small store with a little sign that read 'Cole's Diamonds.' They arrived at the same time as the a couple of police cars. The rain had begun to pour harder; nearly drowning out the old Townsville clock tower as it rang seven thirty.

"Finally!" Buttercup shouted as she quickly sought refuge from the torrential rain in the store, Blossom and Bubbles at her heels.

"Darn this stupid rain! He's gotten away by now for sure!" she protested as they entered alongside two policemen.  
Once inside they all gasped simultaneously as they took in the sight before them. The entire store was in ruins; every glass case was broken, and every piece of merchandise was missing. The broken lights flickered creating eerie shadows amidst the destruction. The store had been completely wiped out, not even the cheapest jewelry was left.

"Impossible... He didn't leave anything!" Buttercup said in disbelief.  
"But... how? How did he do that so fast?" Bubbles wondered aloud.

Bubbles, Buttercup and the two cops inspected the damage while Blossom flew over to a couple of terrified employees that were huddled in the corner of the room, both pale and shaken up from the horrific experience.

"Sir?.. Ma'am?.. Do you know who did this?" Blossom calmly asked the frightened couple.  
They remained motionless and speechless for a few minutes.  
"We don't know.. We were just about to close up the store, and suddenly the lights went out..." Said the man.  
"Yes.. I-I don't know how it happened.. B-but when the lights came on again.. Everything was g-gone...." Said the woman, her voice shaking.  
"Powerpuff Girls!" The girls turned and saw the Mr. Cole, the old jeweler, in the doorway. He looked up with tired red eyes and slowly walked into the room, out of breath, his balding white hair, grey shirt and brown pants soaked and dripping puddles onto the floor.

"I'm sorry girls.." He gasped. "I tried to catch him... but he was too fast.." He fell to his knees with exhaustion.  
"Are you okay..?" A policeman asked as he rushed to his aid.  
"Don't worry about me... just go and catch that thief, girls! He couldn't have gotten too far!" He said between heavy pants and coughs.  
"Don't worry! We'll catch him!" Blossom said, that old confidence in her voice again.  
The girls wasted no time as they zipped out of the store and into the rainy evening.  
"I think its best if we split up.. we'll cover more ground that way." Blossom ordered. With that the girls zoomed off in different directions to search for the unknown robber.

Blossom flew at a breakneck speed, searching for any sort of clue that would lead her to this mysterious criminal. As she searched furiously, she completely lost track of time. She was shaken out of her frantic search as the Townsville clock tower rang eight-fifteen.  
Frustrated, Blossom met up with Bubbles and Buttercup near the jewelry store, where there was now plenty noise and activity. The rain had started to fall so hard that the blinking red and blue lights from the multitude of police cars that now lined the curb could barely be seen.

"Have you found any clues officer?" Blossom asked as they flew over to Officer O'Hara. He turned around and looked at the girls with a sad look on his face.

"I'm afraid not girls.. This villain left without a trace.... Well, almost."  
"Really? What do you mean?" Blossom asked hopefully.  
"Well.. We were responding at first to a robbery, but then we made a terrible discovery." He said with a sigh. "Its not only a theft, but also a murder. Mr. Cole is dead."  
"What?!" Bubbles yelled. "But we were talking to him just a half hour ago!"  
"What about the employees? Did they see anything?" Blossom asked hopefully.  
"No.. Unfortunately they didn't... and neither did the two officers that were sent earlier. They said that Mr. Cole said he was going home...later we discovered he had been beaten to death in the alley." O'Hara said sadly.  
All three girls gasped in shocked horror.  
"Who could have done this? ...Who would steal everything in a defenseless old man's store and kill him in the end; even after the he'd gotten away with it!?" Blossom asked incredulously. "Why? Why would anybody do such a thing?"  
Officer O'Hara casually looked at his watch."Well... that's the strange thing girls.. We have seven witnesses, including you girls, that say he was seen in the store around seven-forty-five... Right now its eight-twenty ...but according to our medical examiner, the time of death was a over an hour ago."

* * *

Dun dun duunn.. I hope y'all like it, thanks for reading! 


	3. Chapter 2: The Dead of Night

Well here I am again. Thanks again for the reveiws, I hope you like the next chapter everyone!

Chapter 2: The Dead of Night

The trip home was a quiet one. The gray clouds had disappeared revealing a black, starless night sky and the merciless rain had stopped long ago, leaving behind a wet, muggy gloominess in the air. The horrific events from earlier also hung heavily in the warm night air as the girls made their way home.

_I don't get it...We were just talking to him.. I thought he was safe.. I guess.. I guess we've failed Townsville once again... _Blossom thought sadly and helplessly to herself.

_I'm so confused.. I still can't believe it..... ....What about before..? We all saw him... they have to be wrong.. He couldn't have died before then.. I saw him with my own eyes! What if... What if he was a g-ghost? Or a ...a zombie!! _Bubbles thought to herself with a squeal and a jump.

_How? How could a villain be so powerful that he could steal so much, so quickly ...not to mention kill without even the slightest clue..._ Buttercup thought angrily.

Soon the girls found themselves lying in bed, both exhausted from the whole ordeal and yet also plagued by insomnia and the endless unanswered questions that riddled and oppressed their clouded minds.

* * *

In a dark alley on the east side of town, a tall hooded figure stood hidden beneath the shadows in the dead of night. Seemingly by magic, the mysterious character slowly pulled out a large bag from his cloak. He let out a soft ethereal chuckle as he reached in the bag while sinking deeper into the shadows. The only hint of light that could be seen was the twinkle of the diamonds as the strange dark form inspected them slowly with his long boney fingers.

"Excellent... everything went just as I'd planned," He said in a ghostly voice that seemed to echo softly from every direction. "I had no idea my power was so incredible. I'm capable of so much... think of the possibilities! This is everything I could have ever dreamed of and even more.. I simply can't wait until I can test it to its full extent. I just need a better test dummy.." he said with a smirk.

"I bet those Powerpuff Girls would do nicely...Heh. I can't wait to see those three cocky little brats begging for mercy." He began laughing to himself in a maniacal, venomous voice that would send chills up the spine of the bravest of men.

"Soon enough I'll have this town of fools, and, most importantly, those Powerpuff Girls wrapped around my little finger."

As these words were spoken they seemed to echo in the darkened alley. They soon faded into silence along with the bizarre miscreant, who also quickly vanished into the black void of the alley.

* * *

Blossom found herself running down the wet streets of east Townsville. She didn't know what was going on, only that she had some unknown destination and she was driven by some strange force in her head to get there. She looked up to see that she was chasing a shadowy hooded figure. She didn't know why, but the sight of this unknown person made her so furious that she ran as fast as she could, not caring how much it hurt or how tired she was.

"Hey stop! Get back here!" Blossom shouted, and was surprised at the unexpected deepness of her voice. She looked down at herself to find that she was not herself at all, but instead Mr. Cole.

In a flash, the shadow turned and darted down a nearby alley as the rain began to pour even more mercilessly. Blossom quickly followed him only to discover the alley to be empty. She looked around anxiously for him, but he was nowhere to be found.

She immediately sensed another presence nearby and took a couple of steps backward, darting her head nervously from one side to the other, searching furiously for the culprit. As she felt a tap in her shoulder, she whirled around to see a tall, ghost-like silhouette, barely outlined by the dim streetlights and very hard to see through the heavy rain. She looked up and saw a pair of horrifying red eyes boring into her own, and she could feel chills going up and down her spine at the mere sight of them.

She had stood there aghast for only a second when the tall ghostly man slowly held up a hand of inhumanly long fingers, curled them into a fist, and in one quick blow....

* * *

Blossom shrieked as she sat up in bed with a jerk, panting and sweating. Her heart was beating so quickly that it took a few moments for her to calm down. She looked over to her sisters and saw they she hadn't woken them up. Good. She didn't want to cause any more problems than she already had.

She sighed heavily and began to think quickly about the nightmare she'd just had. Why was she Mr. Cole? And who was she chasing? As she thought about this, she slowly realized that this mysterious character must be the one who robbed the jewelry store. It almost seemed like she had seen what happened through Mr. Cole's eyes. Was it a random nightmare? Or a sign sent from Mr. Cole himself?

"Bah.. Nonsense." She thought to herself with a chuckle. Quickly dismissing it as just an after effect of the shock, she curled up in bed under the warm covers and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

Blossom awoke the next day with a painful headache. She groaned as she sat up in bed and looked at the clock. Seven o'clock. Hard to believe that only twelve hours ago this whole thing had started. She noticed her sisters were already gone so she floated downstairs and joined them at the breakfast table where the Professor was hovering about and humming a tune, trying desperately to brighten this dreary morning.

Each girl was in the same dismal mood; both a mixture of unrestful, anxious sleep and the sickening feeling that something was very, very wrong. An array of emotions buzzed around in their minds; guilt, sadness, confusion, exhaustion and most importantly, fear. This new villain had cut them deeper than any physical wound. He had made one of their biggest fears a reality, which was letting the city of Townsville down and an innocent citizen get hurt. Professor Utonium was hopelessly trying to cheer up his gloomy girls by offering them their favorite breakfasts: bacon and eggs, waffles, pancakes, even Lucky Captain Rabbit King Nuggets!.. but it was all in vain. He frowned as he sat at the table with them and watched them pick at their food. It broke his heart to see them in such pain over the whole thing, so he attempted to cheer them up.

"Girls.. I know you're still upset about what happened yesterday," he said with a sigh. "But its not your fault.. There's no way anyone could've known this would happen. Please don't blame yourself."

He looked at them with sad but serious eyes. "It's probably just some big mistake on somebody's part.. There's so many possible explanations for how this could've happened... just please ..please don't beat yourselves up over it."

There was a moment of silence as each girl sat in quiet understanding. Professor got up and gave each girl a hug and a kiss before heading down to the lab to work.

"I love you girls. I hope you have a good day at school," he said with a smile.

Soon after he was out of sight, they began to slowly eat their breakfasts. In no time at all, the stresses of the night before had been almost completely forgotten as they slowly fell back into their regular Monday routine. In a flash, the girls were off to school; their trademark smiles once again gracing their little faces.

* * *

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Townsville. The only trace of the storm the night before was a few scattered puddles and a sweet smell in the air. The blue sky, the golden sunshine and the chirping birds in the trees could lift any burden and warm any heart.

The Pokey Oaks kindergarten class was going out to recess at about noon on this beautiful day. Blossom sat on the warm grass and read her book, while Buttercup played dodge ball with Mitch, and Bubbles played jump-rope with Robin. Blossom took a deep breath and was enjoying the sweet smelling air when she noticed something outside the metal fence of the playground.

A strange man was staring at her, an empty look in his eyes. She thought he looked strikingly familiar, with his wrinkled face, balding white hair, grey shirt, and brown pants. He just stood there for a moment glaring at her, his face pale and his eyes almost colorless.

She blinked and suddenly he had vanished. In his place, a tall man with dark hair was standing at a bus stop looking at her, a confused look on his face. She blushed and quickly looked back at her book.

"That man almost looked like Mr. Cole." She thought to herself. "But that's impossible..." She thought as she read the same sentence over and over.

"What if.. What if that was a ghost?" Blossom's eyes went wide as she thought about this. "Nah.. I'm just seeing things. Stop being silly, there's no such thing."

She turned the page of her book slowly and looked down with sad eyes.

"I guess I still feel guilty about that..."She said, a somber look crossing her features at the memory. She sighed and thought to herself more about the situation. It all seemed so confusing, she didn't know what to think anymore.

She was shaken out of her deep thoughts when the hotline phone rang. Blossom put down her book and flew to answer it.

"Hello?.... yes Mayor? Another robbery!?.. First National Bank? ..We'll be right there!"

Blossom quickly called the girls into action, and soon enough they were on their way to save the day once again.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Your feedback is greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 3: The Smallest Life, The Greate...

Here's the next chapter, hope you like!

Chapter 3: The Smallest Life, The Greatest Cost

* * *

First National Bank was strangely quiet when the girls arrived. The glass doors and windows of the building were completely shattered, not unusual for a typical bank robbery, but something still seemed very different.

"Not so fast!"

As they made their grand entrance, announcing their arrival triumphantly, they found the scene before them to be quite unusual. Deserted. No bank tellers, no customers... no robbers.

The entire bank was in ruins. The tiles on the floor were smashed and broken, as though giant feet had crushed them, and the solid steel door to the big vault was bent and open, as though something with superhuman strength had wrenched it open like tin foil. The girls stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, wondering to themselves what was going on.

"This is strange.." Blossom said to herself.

"Where is everybody?" Bubbles wondered aloud.

"Hello? ..Anybody here?..." Blossom called.

She stopped to listen for a moment and soon picked up the soft sobbing of a little girl with her super-hearing.

"Do you hear that?" Blossom quickly searched around the room and finally came across a small child in a red frilly dress, huddled in the corner of the room, quietly crying and clutching a little doll.

"Little girl? What happened here? Where is everybody?" Blossom asked. She looked up at Blossom, her young, innocent face soaked with tears, and her blonde curls hanging messily over her red, puffy eyes.

"M-me..and ..my m-mommy.. were waiting ..in l-line...and.. this big scary monster came.. and ..I tried to hang onto my mommy.. but now she's gone.. everyone's gone.. " she spoke in between gasps and sobs.

The girl began to cry harder, grasping her doll for dear life. Blossom tried to console the girl, but it was no use. This was no time for questioning, but there were still some things Blossom had to know.

"Little girl, what did the monster look like? Where did it go?" Blossom asked slowly and calmly so she wouldn't upset the child even more.

"It was very tall... it was like a big shadow...b-but it moved so fast that I don't really know ...I don't know how.. ..but it was like ..everything went black ..I couldn't see anything... then there was so much screaming and noise.. I screamed as loud as I could for my mommy... but when I woke up... ..my mommy and everyone else was ..gone.." She said slowly, struggling to get each word out between her cries.

Blossom hugged the little girl, tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll find your mommy." Blossom said with a little smile. "Bubbles, take her to the police station, she'll be safe there."

Bubbles held the little girl's hand and led her out of the bank, while Buttercup and Blossom began searching for clues.

"Hey Bloss! You might want to take a look at this..." Buttercup said.

Blossom quickly flew over to the bank's vault, where Buttercup was hovering, a shocked and surprised look on her face.

"What Buttercup?"

"Look.." Buttercup pointed to the inside, which was still full of large money bags.

"Bizarre..." Blossom said to herself.

"What stupid villain would open the vault, and not take any of the money?" Buttercup asked.

"Something seems fishy Buttercup.. I'll check it out, and you can keep searching for more clues."

"Right on, leader girl," Buttercup said as she carefully searched around the room.

Blossom flew inside the giant safe and began to inspect the bags of money. She opened one of the bags and took a peek inside.

Her scream echoed throughout the vault as she discovered what was inside. Blossom threw the bag aside hastily and quickly took several steps back out of the safe, still panting and gasping for air.

"What? What is it Blossom?" Buttercup flew over to where Blossom had nearly collapsed, a worried look on her face.

"Blossom? What happened? What did you find? Blossom! Tell me!" Buttercup shouted in Blossom's ear, becoming increasingly frustrated at her sister's lack of response.

Blossom sat there, speechless, her mouth hanging open; completely ignoring Buttercup's frantic questioning. All she could do was point inside the vault, a distant look in her pale pink eyes.

"I guess I'll have to see for myself.." Buttercup said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Only moments later, Buttercup was also on the floor with Blossom her face as pale as a ghost and her mouth hanging open in shock.

"I... I can't believe it..." Blossom finally said. "...T-here wasn't money at all in those money bags... but b-bodies..."

"Yeah... so... I guess he took all the money after all...h-huh?"

The girls sat there in a dismal silence for a while. Staring in disbelief at what was before them. After a few minutes, Blossom spoke up.

"You know what we have to do Buttercup..." Blossom said with a sigh.

"Y-you don't mean...?" Buttercup said, her voice quivering.

"Yes. We have to look through all of them... its our job Buttercup.. We need to find clues." Blossom said, her usual confidence masking her inner fear.

They both gulped and slowly began to drag the bags out one by one. They carefully removed each body, and the little hope that those innocent people might still have been alive was crushed in an instant.

Soon enough, several Policemen arrived, and began collecting the numerous bodies in body bags. As the morbid task continued, suddenly Blossom shrieked loudly. Buttercup rushed over to see what was the matter, and then she too screamed.

Lying on the ground was the body of a little girl, clutching a tiny doll. She wore a red dress and her hair hung in shiny blonde curls. Her pale face looked so peaceful as she laid in her eternal sleep. Soon enough a couple of policemen had joined them, and had put the little girl in a body bag as well.

Blossom and Buttercup watched them carry her away in a stunned silence.

"But.. But how? This was the same little girl we spoke to only minutes ago..." Blossom said in shock.

Buttercup sat silent for a moment. Then suddenly she yelped and turned turned to Blossom with wide eyes.

"If this is that little girl... then... who is with...?"

"BUBBLES!"

* * *

How's THAT for a cliffhanger, Mwahaha!


	5. Chapter 4: Faceless Evil

Thanks for the reveiws y'all! Well.. here goes..

Hope you like!

Chapter 4: Faceless Evil

* * *

Bubbles was walking down the sidewalk, holding the hand of the little girl who was still crying softly. She wanted to avoid flying, because that might have scared the child too much. Bubbles casually looked at all the people passing by her, and as she did, one person in particular caught her eye. She noticed an old, white-haired man pass by her quickly, but it almost seemed to go in slow motion. He had a pair of cold, frightening eyes that glared down at her as she walked along with the little girl.

In an instant he had passed her by, and she whirled her head around to see where he went, but she only saw a young woman walking with a little boy. The instant stroke of fear had caused her to grasp the little girl's hand tighter, and she looked up at Bubbles, tears still streaming down her face.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly.

Bubbles looked at her with sad eyes and a little frown.

"Oh.. Uhh.. Don't worry little girl, I'm taking you somewhere safe; where that big mean monster can't get you." She gave the girl's hand a reassuring squeeze, but that only caused her to look at Bubbles with confusion in her bloodshot eyes.

"But how? How can we ever be safe? If it got my mommy..then how can YOU be safe?"

Bubbles chuckled a little.

"You don't need to worry. I'll keep you safe, cuz I'm a Powerpuff Girl! And the Powerpuff Girls never lose!" Bubbles said confidently and with an encouraging smile.

"Are you sure about that?" The girl asked in a strange voice.

"Well of course! There's nothing that can beat the Powerpuff Girls!" Bubbles said, a bit confused at the girl's strange behavior.

"I'd beg to differ..." said the little girl as she looked at Bubbles, with an odd, emotionless look on her face.

* * *

"Bubbles! Where are you Bubbles?"

Blossom and Buttercup flew frantically down the sidewalks towards the Townsville Police Station. They had no idea what on earth could've been going on, all they knew was that they had to find their sister.

Blossom stopped short when she saw a group of people huddled around something next to a large brick building. Buttercup and Blossom elbowed their way through the crowd, where they found Bubbles lying on the ground unconscious, a large bruise on her head.

"Bubbles! Bubbles wake up!" Blossom gently shook her while Buttercup broke through the crowd, exploring the surrounding area.

Bubbles slowly came to, groaning as she tried to sit up.

"Wha... What happened?"

"I don't know... something must've knocked you out Bubbles. Are you okay?" Blossom asked.

"Yeah... I think so.." Bubbles stood up slowly with Blossom's help. Buttercup joined them again, and they each surveyed the damage around them.

The sidewalk and the crosswalk of the street was damaged as though an incredible force had plowed right through the ground. There was a deep imprint in the brick building that Bubbles had crashed into, and she could still feel the impact ringing in her head.

Bubbles tried to walk a little bit, nearly fainting. Blossom and Buttercup quickly grabbed Bubbles' arms and flew up into the sky.

"Maybe we'd better go home... so you can rest. That bruise looks pretty bad." Blossom and Buttercup carefully escorted Bubbles home, as Bubbles slowly drifted off again.

* * *

When Bubbles woke up again she was lying on the couch in the living room, an ice pack on her forehead, and her family watching her with worry in their eyes.

"Hey! I think she's waking up!" She vaguely heard Buttercup's voice as she opened her tired eyes. The Professor smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Are you okay sweetie?" He asked.

"Yeah.. My head hurts a little, but I feel better."

"That's my little trooper." He smiled and gave her a hug. "I'll leave you girls alone.. I've still got quite a lot of work to do." He got up, waved to his girls and went back down to the lab to continue his work.

After he was gone, Buttercup and Blossom hopped up on the couch next to Bubbles.

"Hey, Bubs.. what happened out there?"Buttercup asked.

"I.. I can't remember what happened.." Bubbles groaned.

"Come on Bubbles.. We need to know what happened... please try to remember.." Blossom pleaded. "What about that little girl, Bubbles? Where did she go?"

Bubbles' eyes opened wide as the memory came back to her. The strange, evil look in the little girl's eyes... it all came back to her in a split second.

* * *

The little girl chuckled as she suddenly jumped in front of Bubbles.

"Huh?" Bubbles stepped backwards in surprise at the girl's strange actions.

The girl gave an little laugh and held out her tiny palm in front of Bubbles. With seemingly no effort at all, the girl blew an invisible, and yet incredibly powerful, shockwave of energy from her hand, sending Bubbles down the sidewalk, across the street, and headfirst into a brick building.

Bubbles half-opened her eyes long enough to see the little girl running away. She also noticed that, strangely enough, the people walking down the sidewalk acted as though nothing had happened. And then, without warning, it all went black.

* * *

"It was her... that little girl did this to me..." Bubbles said to herself in shocked wonder.

"What!" Buttercup shouted. "But she was just a little girl! How could she blow you, a Powerpuff Girl, into a brick building?"

"I don't know.. ..I really don't know.." Bubbles said almost shamefully, her eyes staring distantly ahead.

"Because that wasn't a little girl, Bubbles." Blossom said.

"What?" Bubbles asked, stunned.

"That was our villain. It must be. There's no other explanation."

"But... how? How could that be our villain?"

Blossom shook her head sadly. "We found the body of that little girl at the bank, hidden in the vault.. along with many others."

"Maybe it was a ghost! Maybe that's what happened last night too! Maybe there's ghosts all over Townsville!" Bubbles said, her voice rising quickly and also quivering in fear.

"No, that's not possible. I hugged her, and you held her hand. This was no ghost. And yet, there's no way that little girl could be real."

Bubbles' eyes widened as she realized this, and thought about it silently.

"We're dealing with some kind of monster that must do his crimes, and then disguise himself as one of his victims. Its like he's playing some sick and twisted game with us." Blossom explained.

Each girl thought this over for a moment, until Buttercup suddenly cried out.

"Hey! That would explain the incident with Mr. Cole..."Buttercup said. "We all saw him in the jewelry shop.. It must have been the villain in disguise!"

"But that wasn't the only time I saw him." Blossom said.

"What? What are you talking about?" Buttercup asked.

"I swear I saw Mr. Cole standing outside the school today during recess. But I just assumed I was seeing things." Blossom explained.

"I know what you mean... I think I saw him too on the sidewalk as I was walking the little girl to the police station.."

"But how could that be? You guys are crazy!" Buttercup rolled her eyes and laughed at her sisters.

"Maybe he has us in some sort of mind trap? Maybe we're just hallucinating?" Blossom thought aloud.

"The only question is... how can we capture such a villain? If we don't even know what it's true form is...or IF he's even real at all." Blossom said with a sudden hopeless realization.

Each girl seemed to sink lower on the couch as they thought about the horrible truth.

"You're right.. there's no way we can catch this villain.. if we don't even know what it looks like.. Or even if it really exists." Bubbles said.

"Well SOMETHING must be doing this.. there's just no way to know what is real and what's not.." Buttercup said.

"I guess we'll just have to weed him out then." Blossom said, as Bubbles and Buttercup looked at her curiously. "Catch him in the act."

"But how?" Bubbles asked.

"Easy. We know his targets... money, jewels.. Valuable things. We just need to wait until he strikes again and nail him. Get the security tapes and watch him in action. Then we'll know how to capture him." Blossom said with a new confidence in her voice.

"Yeah! Great idea Blossom! We'll be sure to catch him now!" Buttercup said, her old courageous spirit back.

"Yeah! That big dummy won't know what hit him!" Bubbles giggled and the girls hugged each other, ready and willing to take on this new foe.

* * *

Meanwhile, while the girls celebrated their new plan of attack against this faceless villain, a pair of vengeful red eyes hovered ominously in the darkness of the old factory. Every one of their words echoed throughout the giant hollow room, as though they were being projected from some sort of load speaker. Instantly the factory was thrown into a cold silence as the connection was cut off abruptly, and the shadowy figure began to chuckle to himself in that same ghostly voice at the girls' plan.

"Foolish Powerpuff Girls. I'm not interested in money and riches. Hah! What I want cannot be bought with petty human money. What I want is the total control I deserve! I want the utmost power over this pathetic little city."

He began to pace back and forth in the darkened room, grinning to himself as he thought about his plan.

"Ignorant fools, thinking they can catch me so easily. What they have seen was merely a small taste of my power. I will prove that no power can match my own, not even that of those puny little Powerpuff Girls. I will get what I want, and I will kill anyone who stands in my way." He stood still and began to laugh to himself.

"The only thing left to do is destroy those cocky little brats. But.. killing them now would be too easy.. and not painful enough." He scratched his chin with his long fingers as he thought to himself. After a few moments, a wide grin spread across his face, but it was hidden in the darkness of the room.

"I need to kill them from the inside out. Break them each one by one. I need to make their greatest fears real. I want to see them screaming and on their knees begging for mercy. Its perfect!" His voice rose in intensity with each word, until finally he exploded with another fit of evil laughter. He stopped suddenly and then began to think to himself again.

"But... there's so many possibilities... how should I do the job? It needs to be slow and painful... but how?" He thought to himself some more, until a horrible deadly grin spread across his face.

"I know just what to do..."

* * *

Well there ya go.. hope you enjoyed it ;; thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 5: Momento Mori

Thanks for the reveiws y'all! Sorry I haven't posted in ages.. I've been extra busy with school lately, and haven't had much time to write..

But here I am again, and I hope you like! Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Momento Mori

* * *

"Can you believe this Paul? Take a look at this story I'm writin'.. 'Mysterious Villain Robs Jewelry Store: Body of Owner Found in Nearby Ally.' I was told that the witnesses, which include the Powerpuff Girls, claim to have seen him alive after he was killed!"

"Yeah Nick, I'm doing a story like that. Some psycho robbed First National, and killed everyone in it! Those Powerpuff Girls claim to have spoken to a little girl in the bank, who was found dead only minutes later. Can ya believe that? It feels like everybody is goin' nuts these days.. even our own superheros!"

Paul turned around in his office chair and looked up and the clock. Seven forty-five. He yawned and stretched and continued pounding away at his computer alongside his buddy Nick, as they rushed to meet the deadline at the Townsville Tribune. The only light was that of the moonlight that poured through the window and the two cheap desk lamps, which provided a soft glow in the large, empty room.

Suddenly Paul stopped writing, a surprised and frightened look on his face.

"Ya think it could be the same villain, Nick?" Paul asked his friend. "Its creepy that he could get away both times, and kill so many people without leaving a trace."

Nick shuddered as he took a sip of cold coffee. "Meh.. He's just a lucky one I guess. A mastermind." He shrugged and continued writing.

"I guess so... but that worries me.. It sounds like we've got a mass murderer on our hands." Paul said nervously, his eyes growing wide in fear. "What's stopping him from coming into people's homes?"

Nick laughed suddenly and slapped Paul playfully on the back.

"You worry too much Paul. Those Powerpuff Girls will take care of everything." He looked at his watch. "We need to hurry up, closing is in ten minutes."

As both men printed up their stories, the lamps on their desks began to flicker; creating eerie shadows on the office walls.

"Well, all finished! ...Man, we need some new lightbulbs..." Nick stood up and stretched, and walked over to the printer to gather the newly printed articles. He hastily threw them aside and grabbed his coat.

"Well, another day, another dollar. I'm outta here." Nick turned to leave, with Paul not far behind when suddenly the desk lamps buzzed and flickered until they finally went out.

"What's going on?" Paul asked anxiously.

"Meh, just another blowout I guess. Don't worry, I'll -ARGH!"

Nick's words were cut off sharply as a powerful force closed around his neck. He gasped and gulped for air, struggling helplessly behind the unknown attacker's grip. After only a moment, he fell to the ground limp and lifeless.

"Nick? Hey what happened, man? You okay?" Paul groped blindly in the dark, until he too felt an incredible force wrapping around his neck. He soon fell to his knees gasping for breath, until finally he fell dead alongside his friend.

The shadow moved towards the articles that had been thrown upon the table of empty coffee cups and doughnut crumbs. He picked up the papers in his icy cold hands and quickly read the reports. With only a simple snap of his finger, an ad had been added to the bottom of the paper in huge letters that no one could miss.

When he was done, he let the papers fall slowly to the ground and had once again vanished into the shadows, his laugh echoing in the cold, dark room.

* * *

The morning was bitterly cold. Blossom awoke to the sound of rain drizzling lightly on the window panes. She looked to her sisters and found them to be still asleep. Typical. Although reluctant to escape the warmth of her blankets, she slowly crept out of bed and hovered downstairs to the living room where the Professor was reading the paper.

"Good morning Professor!" Blossom said with a smile. At first the Professor didn't look up from his newspaper. But when he did, his dismal mood was apparent.

"Oh, ..Good Morning, Blossom."He returned to reading his paper, with great interest; enough to pique Blossom's curiosity.

"Whatchya readin' Professor?" She sat down beside him on the sofa and peeked at the newspaper he was holding in his shaky hands.

"Just some articles about the robberies the past two days."Professor Utonium said, barely paying attention to his daughter.

"Oh.." Blossom said. "What did you find out?"

"Well it says here that twenty-seven people were killed at the bank yesterday.."

"Wow.."

"Yes. And what's strange is the cause of death is unknown. Its like they all just.. fell over and died."

"Woah.." Blossom and the Professor sat in silence as they continued to read the article together.

"Professor!" Blossom shouted suddenly, making the Professor jump. "Look!" Blossom pointed to a strange ad at the bottom of the front page. It said in big, bold letters

**'Beware City of Townsville, for No One is Safe. Quasi is everywhere. If you Value your Lives, You will Surrender to Me.'**

"Quasi? Who on earth is...?"

Blossom and the Professor looked at each other in silent understanding.

"You don't think..." Professor started.

"Yes. Quasi must be it's name. Quasi is doing all of this..."

"Who is doing what?" Bubbles and Buttercup came floating down the stairs, yawning and rubbing their eyes.

"Here, read this." Blossom gave Buttercup and Bubbles the paper. After reading it they each exchanged knowing glances; they knew that they were going to have to stop this creature, no matter how impossible it seemed.

Professor Utonium turned on the TV and started watching the news, continuing with his daily ritual as though nothing was wrong.

The reporter on TV was in a frenzy, speaking so quickly that she could barely be understood.

"It seems that the killings from two nights ago and yesterday was not the end of this horrible nightmare in Townsville. Unfortunately, the newly named villain 'Quasi' has struck again. This time, in the Townsville Tribune newsroom, killing two reporters and leaving behind a threatening ad in this morning's paper. It seems that Townsville can only wait helplessly until this ruthless menace strikes again."

"Not if we have something to say about it! He's gonna be toast once I get my hands on him!" Buttercup shouted as she punched her palm with her fist.

"Well girls, you might want to hurry up. You don't want to be late for school." Professor Utonium said as he glanced at his watch. He got up quickly and headed for his lab.

"I'll see you when you get home, girls. Have a good day."

"Right Professor, come on girls!" And with that, the girls zipped upstairs to get ready and soon enough, were on their way to Pokey Oaks Kindergarten.

* * *

Thanks for reading, as always! (and thanks for not killing me for taking so long!)


	7. Chapter 6: Harmless

Hey everyone! Again, sorry for the wait.. ;; I've been working on this chapter and many chapters to come, so hopefully I should have another chapter up after this one very soon. (Yay Spring Break!)

So here ya go, on with the fic! (Sorry, I know it's short)

Chapter 6: Harmless

* * *

The old clock hung ominously on the wall, staring down mockingly at the pair of eager green eyes that watched its hands intently as they slowly ticked away the seconds of the seemingly endless Friday.

"Buttercup!" She whirled her head around at the unmistakable impatience in Ms. Keane's voice as her name was called for the third time that day.

"Pay attention Buttercup," she said sternly and resumed the lesson.

Buttercup muttered under her breath and turned to her sisters. Bubbles was softly humming a little tune and doodling on her papers, completely oblivious to everything around her. Buttercup rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smirk. _Silly kid_ she thought.

She then turned her attention to Blossom who sat and listened to the sweet drawl of Ms. Keane's voice with an enthused interest. Buttercup's face twisted in disgust._ Sickening...just sickening.. _She thought to herself.

Buttercup slowly drifted away deeper into her mind, frozen in thought. She daydreamed about many different things, including the "Quasi crimes" as they were now called.

Nearly three weeks had passed since those strange incidents had occurred in Townsville. Nothing unusual had happened at all in those weeks. The girls and the rest of the city had almost completely forgotten about those horrific events, and that there was still a dangerous villain on the loose.

Many had just dismissed it all as a giant hoax, a silly little thing that was way overblown to create publicity. Others said that the villain was still out there, just waiting for the right moment to strike again. But the majority (including the Powerpuff Girls) had nearly completely forgotten about it. Police investigations were slowly dissipating, but the evidence that was found strongly supported the fact that the culprit used some sort of magic to deceive his victims.

Both the police and the public agreed that the obvious suspect was Him. Buttercup felt like her and her sisters were the only ones who disagreed. Him wouldn't have all the secrecy. If he committed a crime, he would be proud to announce it to the world. No.. this villain was different.

Buttercup was shaken from her thoughtful state when she heard the shrill ringing of the bell. She was out of the classroom in no time, closely followed by her sisters, eager for their weekend to spend with the Professor.

* * *

The girls were enjoying the freedom of the afternoon, just as all kids do once school lets out. Buttercup was playing video games in their bedroom, Blossom had found a quiet place to do some reading and Bubbles was sitting under the shade of the big tree in the backyard, enjoying the beautiful sunshine and cool breeze while coloring in her coloring book.

Bubbles hummed softly as she colored everything all shades of blue, neglecting the other twenty-three crayons in the box. She was so absorbed in her coloring, that she didn't notice the presence that slowly approached her and hid behind the large oak tree. It crept across the grass, inching ever closer to Bubbles who remained blissfully unaware as she continued coloring. A pair of beady red eyes watched her curiously, until finally...

Blossom and the Professor hurried out to the backyard when they heard Bubbles' scream.

"Bubbles? What is it!" Blossom shouted, panicking and out of breath.

Instead of lying on the ground, fatally wounded, Bubbles was instead grasping a tiny white bunny rabbit. Blossom and the Professor both let out a huge sigh of relief. Although torn between strangling her sister and hugging her tightly, Blossom finally spoke up.

"Bubbles? What's that you've got there?" Blossom asked as she walked towards her sister.

"Look at what I found! A cute little bunny rabbit!"Bubbles said as she held the rabbit in her arms and stroked its pure white fur.

Blossom studied the bunny closely with serious eyes, but couldn't help but smile when it wiggled its little nose and twitched its ears.

"Awwwww.. It's so cute Bubbles!" Blossom said as she began to pet it as well.

Bubbles then turned her attention to the Professor, who stood baffled at the whole scene before him. She put on the sweetest, most pitiful face before she asked the inevitable:

"Can I keep him Professor?" Bubbles asked hopefully with a little sniffle.

"I don't think so Bubbles..." Professor Utonium said with a sigh. "You remember what I told you about bringing animals home."

"But Professor, this is just one little bunny! He won't do any harm!" Bubbles protested.

"This rabbit is a wild rabbit, Bubbles. We can't just take him out of the wild." Professor Utonium explained.

They each looked down at the rabbit who was now nibbling on the grass playfully.

"But look Professor!" Bubbles exclaimed suddenly. "He's hurt!" Bubbles pointed to a fresh wound on its back leg. "We can't just leave him like this!"

"Well..." Professor Utonium looked at the rabbit and thought for a moment. "I suppose.. we could keep him.. until he gets better.."

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Professor!" Bubbles said with a big smile.

"Only until he gets better Bubbles." Professor Utonium said again, this time more sternly.

"I know Professor..." She said as she reached out to the rabbit as it limped pathetically towards Bubbles.

"Now lets go bandage that wound... it looks pretty bad.." Professor Utonium said as he led Bubbles in the house, leaving Blossom behind.

Blossom watched them go inside, both puzzled and surprised.

_Huh... I didn't notice that rabbit's wound until just now, but it was lucky I guess.. Now we have a pet rabbit!_ She thought to herself with a smile. _Well for now at least._ _It couldn't be any harm having a rabbit around the house.. Maybe it'll even be fun!_

She walked inside to go continue reading her book.

_No harm at all.. _

* * *

Thanks for reading y'all! Not what you expected I bet.

And BTW, for those trying to figure out the title:

I decided to use "Lycanthrope" as a metaphor for what Quasi is essentially... sohe's not literally a werewolf. I thought a werewolf would accurately describe his actions as a villain and all... if that makes any sense :P


	8. Chapter 7: Lunatic Eclipse

Here's the next chapter everyone! I hope you like it, cuz now the fic really starts to pick up (IMO).

Enjoy!

Chapter 7: Lunatic Eclipse

* * *

Blossom and Bubbles sat on the floor of their bedroom, watching their new pet with enthused interest as it hopped slowly around the room, wiggling its nose and twitching its ears as usual. Buttercup was playing video games on the other side of the room, a look of hypnotized contentment on her face. Bubbles giggled and hopped lazily after it, "chasing" it all around the room until she finally scooped it up into a big hug. 

"What a good little bunny rabbit..." She said as she stroked its fur. She took a look at the bandage that the Professor had made for its leg. Sensing her sister's worry, Blossom tried to cheer Bubbles up.

"Don't worry Bubbles, it'll get better soon."

"I hope so... but when he gets better, he'll have to go away..."

"Yeah... but that's what's best for it Bubbles... remember what the Professor said? This animal belongs in the wild, and that's where he's happy."

Bubbles smiled a little and nodded at Blossom. She picked up the bunny and put it in its own little bed that the Professor had made for him.

"But I'm going to miss him when he's gone."

"Me too Bubbles."

"If only we .."

Before Bubbles could finish her sentence, she was cut off by the sound of the Professor's jolly voice as he burst into their bedroom.

"It's time for bed, girls!" Professor Utonium announced.

"Okay Professor!" The girls said in unison.

"Nighty night little bunny rabbit! Sleep tight!" Bubbles said to the rabbit. She giggled some more as she hopped into bed like a bunny, which made Buttercup groan and Blossom laugh.

"Goodnight girls, sweet dreams!" Professor Utonium said as he gave each girl a goodnight kiss and left the room.

Soon enough, the girls were fast asleep with smiles of contentment on their faces, save for Blossom, whose face twisted into a look of anguish and torment.

Her dreams were not at all sweet.

* * *

Blossom opened her eyes and found herself to be standing inside First National Bank, clutching the hand of a tall, light-haired woman and grasping a tiny doll. She looked around curiously, wondering what was going on. 

The sound of shattering glass made her scream, and she turned around to find an enormous shadow-like monster standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the blinding rays of the sun. It lumbered into the room, the sheer force of its huge body making the floor tiles break on impact. It stood up straight, reared back its ugly head and opened its monstrous jaws, revealing razor-sharp teeth amidst its unintelligible jet black body.

It seemed to radiate an undescribable evil energy, and Blossom barely had time to think before it let out a primal roar and sent out a powerful blast in all directions.

Blossom eyes opened wide and she opened her mouth to scream, but was surprised when it felt like all of the air was being sucked out from her body. Her lungs began to ache, and she tried to scream again, but nothing would come out. It was as though her very soul was being sucked from her body. Her vision began to blur as the blinding light increased, and the last thing she saw was the tall woman collapsing nearby.

And then it all went black.

* * *

Blossom awoke with a jolt. Another nightmare. She'd been having nightmares every night since the first Quasi crime. She slowly sat up shaking and covered in a cold sweat. She gasped for air hastily as she slowly got out of bed, her heart still pounding rapidly in her chest. 

She hovered downstairs to get a drink of water, and hopefully to calm her nerves.

Blossom hovered drowsily into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she prepared a glass of cool water. She sat down at the kitchen table, slowly sipping her ice cold water, and thinking to herself about her strange nightmares.

_I wish I knew what all of these dreams meant. Quasi hasn't appeared in weeks. Why am I still so worried about this? If he was going to strike again, he would've already done so... right?_

Blossom yawned as she drank more of her water, and then rested her head on her hands, thinking hard.

_I guess we'll never figure out just what happened those weeks ago. All of it just doesn't make sense. If only we could've had more witnesses... or survivors. _

Blossom sighed as she hopped out of her chair and walked towards the living room.

Suddenly, she froze in mid step.

The silence was deafening as Blossom's heart began to beat faster and her breathing quickened. Something was very, very wrong. She tensed up her muscles and looked around slowly from side to side. There wasanother presence in the room. She could feel it.

She could hear her heartbeat pounding in her head, and she began to breathe in short frantic gasps. She took a step towards the stairs even though they seemed to be swallowed up by the darkness.

After a few moments she began to calm herself, and the strange presence had disappeared. Her heart had returned to its normal pace, and she slowly advanced closer to the stairs. She chuckled at her foolishness.

_What was I thinking? Getting so worked up over nothing_. She thought to herself with a smile.

Her eyes went wide as she suddenly felt a cold hand close around her mouth. Her screams were muffled as she squirmed under the mysterious trespasser's strong grip. Another arm wrapped tightly around her stomach, making her gasp frantically for air.

She shuddered as she felt the intruder's heavy breathing on the back of her neck, and coughed as its powerful arm squeezed ever tighter around her waist.

And then it all went black.

The silence of the dark room was broken by the sudden shattering of the glass as it fell from her limp hands.

* * *

Blossom shrieked as she jumped up in bed, panting and gasping for air. She looked around quickly to find that she was once again in her bedroom, lying in bed alongside her sisters. She took a deep breath as she slowly came back to reality, the horrors of the dream slowly fading away. She looked around the room which was illuminated by the silver moonlight. 

The little rabbit who was sitting innocently in its cage caught Blossom's eye. It was staring at her curiously, twitching its nose and blinking its beady red eyes. Blossom smiled at it and giggled softly at its cuteness. She yawned as she curled back into bed, and slowly she fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Blossom awoke early the next morning, just as the golden rays of the dawning sun began to pour through her bedroom windows. She slowly got out of bed, and walked out into the quiet hallway. As she made her way downstairs, she looked around and saw that the house was still asleep, savoring these silent moments before it would surely be full of life and excitement very soon. 

She yawned and stretched as she walked sluggishly into the kitchen to make herself a bowl of cereal. Suddenly she felt a tearing pain in her foot that she couldn't help but scream from. Her right leg gave way beneath her, and she fell to the floor, grasping her bleeding foot and crying. Nearby she noticed the glimmer of a large piece of shattered glass, which was now covered in blood.

Her eyes opened wide and she let out a scream as she realized the horrible truth.

_What happened last night wasn't a nightmare at all... but.. real..._

* * *

Dun Dun Duuunnnnn! Yay! 

I know everybody pretty much knows what's going on by now... but don't get too confident! Things are not always what they seem.. Mwahahahahaha!..

Okay not really.. but anyways.. Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 8: Prey

Here I am again... sorry again for the long absence. I've been busy with school as usual..

And for anyone who noticed/cares.. in the last chapter, the girls spent the weekend playing with the new pet, and the incident at the end of the last chapter happened on Sunday night.. just to clear up that minor thing for any potential confusion in this chapter..

And so.. on with the fic!

Chapter 8: Prey

* * *

Ten o'clock. Blossom now found herself sitting in her Pokey Oaks Kindergarten class on a usual Monday morning, only this time she stared distantly ahead at Miss Keane with minute interest.

Her mind was racing. All she could think about was the horrific encounter from the night before, and her brush with death.

_Why did it not kill me?_ She asked herself in wonder. _How did I get back in my bed? _

She turned these questions and many others over and over in her mind, until she could barely think anymore.

It was only until she heard the familiar buzz of the hotline that she was shaken her out of her deep thoughts. Blossom jumped up and suddenly felt a sharp pain run up her leg, having forgotten about her injury from earlier. She made her way slowly towards the hotline, limping along helplessly as the class watched her with curious eyes. She picked up the phone with shaky hands.

"Yes Mayor?"

"B-blossom! You and your sisters n-need to come home, quick!"

Blossom was surprised to hear the panicked, shaking voice of the Professor on the other end. She hesitated for a moment before she assured him they would be home as soon as possible.

* * *

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup slammed through the front door with a deafening crash, and quickly began to search for the Professor. They flew down to the lab without hesitation, and looked frantically around for the Professor. At first glance nothing seemed to be wrong, but that was until they noticed a door that read "X Lab: Toxic Materials - Keep Out" was half open.

The girls exchanged confused and worried glances. They knew that the X Lab was strictly forbidden, but they had no choice. They had to find the Professor. They slowly and cautiously hovered into the mysterious room and gasped when they saw its horrendous state of destruction.

Various chemicals and tools were scattered all over the place. Broken flasks leaked hazardous chemicals all over the floor, and sparks flew everywhere from the frayed wires of dismantled machines. The tiles of the floor were smashed like those at the bank, leaving inhumanly large footprints on the floor all over the room.

Then came the worst sight of all. Lying on the broken floor, was the mangled body of Professor Utonium. His lab coat was torn in several places, his face was bruised, and his right arm was twisted at an odd angle. The phone was lying next to him, the receiver having fallen from his hand and the dial tone beeping incessantly in the painful silence. The girls flew to his aid immediately as he lay there moaning and groaning miserably in intense pain.

"Professor? What happened?" Blossom cried.

"Girls.." He choked out. "It was him.. it was Quasi.. You need to stop him girls."

"No, Professor. We need to get you to a hospital," Blossom said sternly. She turned to her sisters. "Girls. Take the Professor to the hospital, and I'll stay hear and search for clues."

Bubbles and Buttercup hesitated at first, but then nodded. They carefully lifted the Professor up and floated into the air.

"Sure thing Leader girl, just promise to take care of yourself, okay?" Buttercup said as she looked at Blossom with serious eyes.

"I promise. Now you two hurry!" She commanded and Bubbles and Buttercup left in a flash for the hospital.

* * *

Buttercup shuffled her feet on the white floor of the hospital lobby. Every once and a while she glanced nervously at the clock while Bubbles stared half-interested at an old magazine. Buttercup looked around her at all the people waiting in the lobby. A young father with wide blue eyes and blonde hair sat nervously as his little girl played on the floor. An older woman with gray hair was sitting alone, waiting patiently for her husband to come out of surgery. Buttercup noticed a pale old man with a wrinkled face, thinning grey hair and plain brown pants sat on the far side of the room.

He must have sensed her looking at him, for he suddenly stared at her with cold, almost colorless eyes. The bravest of puffs shrunk under this glare, and quickly averted her glance.

"Bubbles!" She whispered as she nudged her sister roughly. "Look at that guy!" She pointed at where the man was sitting, but when she looked again he was gone.

"There's nobody there, silly." Bubbles laughed and continued reading while Buttercup stared wide-eyed at the spot where the old man had been.

_Maybe they weren't crazy... maybe that was him.. _She thought to herself.

Buttercup was startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to find Dr. Hartnell staring down at her with a smile.

"How is the Professor, Dr. Hartnell? Will he be okay?" Bubbles asked quickly.

"He'll be ready to go home in a day or two," He said. "Professor Utonium has a serious fracture on his right arm, and some pretty bad bruises, but otherwise he's okay."

Bubbles and Buttercup both sighed in relief at once, happy to hear that the Professor was going to be okay. Dr. Hartnell smiled and then looked at his watch.

"It's getting late girls, you'd better get home. Do you girls need me to send someone over there to keep you company, or will you be okay on your own?" He asked.

"I think we'll be fine, Doc. Blossom is pretty much like a mother anyways." Buttercup said as she rolled her eyes and Bubbles gave a little giggle.

"Thanks Doc, we'll be here first thing in the morning to see the Professor! Bye!" Buttercup and Bubbles waved to Dr. Hartnell as they flew out of the hospital.

* * *

Back in the X lab, Blossom was carefully searching for clues. After painstakingly inspecting every inch of the small room, she didn't seem to notice anything unusual. That was until she noticed a pile of broken flasks on the ground. Puzzled, she looked closer and found no trace of any sort of chemicals that spilled, so she cleaned up the mess and continued searching.

She had a sickening feeling thatQuasi had attacked the Professorbecause she didn't stop himthe night before. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have lethim get away and let him hurt the Professor?

She began to inspect the broken tiles of the floor, finding them oddly familiar. They looked as though a great force had broken them, and yet they were in the shape of a human footprint, which it would be clearly impossible for any human to have such power.

"How much power can this guy have?" She whispered to herself. She began to shiver slightly at the thought of Quasi on the loose, perhaps even hiding in the house, but, despite her fear, she continued searching the area, determined to find some sort of clue about what happened.

She studied the footprints closely, finding a majority of them to look the same. Each looked like an enlarged human footprint, only they were obviously inhumanly powerful. As she looked closer she discovered some to be of gradually changing sizes, some becoming smaller and then growing larger again. Others slowly becoming huge like that of a giant, and then shrinking back to normal.

Although thoroughly confused, Blossom got up and began to search the cabinets of hazardous chemicals carefully. She saw that none of them were missing.

_Good._ She thought to herself. _Some of these chemicals could be very dangerous in the wrong hands..._

She was about to search the Professor's collection of Top Secret files and formulas, when a thought suddenly struck her.

Without hesitation, she flew over to the garbage and pulled out the pieces of broken flasks that she had found earlier. She began to carefully inspect each one with her microscopic vision, searching for any trace of chemical.

Just as she was afraid of, she found small traces of Chemical X on each of the pieces. After studying the shards of glass a bit longer, she concluded that something had somehow absorbed the chemical. She gasped and suddenly grew very nervous.

_W-what are we dealing with here?_ She thought in a panic. _Something powerful enough to absorb that much chemical X...? _

She quickly calculated that she had found six broken flasks of chemical X, so about a gallon or so had been absorbed.

_SIX FLASKS! But that's impossible! Chemical X is highly toxic, no creature could contain that much chemical X and still survive!_

For a moment her heart stopped. Her eyes grew wide at the revelation, and she slowly stood up, her legs shaking as she walked toward the Professor's vault, which had been wrenched open. She slowly walked inside and flipped on the lights. A dim lightbulb illuminated the small, dark room, but that was enough to see the horrible truth.

Three-hundred gallons. All gone.

* * *

Mwahaha!

Oh, andtoexplain HG's comment about glass not being able to cut a puff : In my fic, the puffs are more vulnerable to certainthings thanhow it appearson the show.. which will be explained better later on... so just an FYI ..

Oh, and thankies for reading!


	10. Chapter 9: Blazing Fury

Again, I apologize for the wait.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, cuz its a doosey!

Chapter 9: Blazing Fury

* * *

When Bubbles and Buttercup came home that night, they found Blossom pale as a ghost, sitting on the couch in the darkness.

"What's wrong with her?" Bubbles asked nervously.

"I don't know Bubbles.." Buttercup said, concerned. "Hey Blossom?...Come on Blossom, talk to us... What's wrong sis?"

But as much as they tried to talk to their sister, it was no use. Blossom just sat there, staring off into space.

It was around midnight when Bubbles and Buttercup finally gave up and went to bed, literally almost dragging Blossom along with them.

* * *

The moonlight was hidden by a blanket of black clouds. The only sounds inside the house were the soft breathing of Bubbles and Buttercup as they slept, while Blossom laid there wide awake, thinking furiously about the recent discoveries she had made.

_I should tell Bubbles and Buttercup.. but they wouldn't believe me... I can't even believe it myself. Maybe I'm just going insane... its impossible... _

She tossed and turned, debating what to do. There were no answers anywhere. They couldn't begin to know where to look for Quasi, and even if they found him, they wouldn't stand a chance against him.

The once fearless and confident leader of the Powerpuff Girls was now shrinking under the strength of such an inconceivable evil power. She had let everyone down. The Professor, her sisters, and Townsville. Feeling utterly defeated, Blossom had nothing else to do other than curl herself up into a ball and cry softly.

* * *

Blossom awoke to the shrill sound of Bubbles' voice as she screamed in panic. It only took an instant for the intolerable noise to register in her blurred and fuzzy mind, but when it did she shot up in bed, her heart beating rapidly in her ears.

Blossom looked around quickly to find Bubbles sitting on the floor, teary-eyed and sniffling. She looked next to her and noticed that Buttercup had also been woken up by Bubbles_'_ screams, and was the first to jump out of bed to see what was wrong.

"What Bubbles!" Buttercup asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"L-l-look B-buttercup.." Bubbles said, sobbing and pointing. "Our bunny ran away..."

Once again, both Blossom and Buttercup breathed a sigh of relief. They looked into the rabbit's cage to find that he was, indeed, missing.

Silence. Blossom watched Bubbles closely as she wept for her lost pet, but instead of caving at the sight of her crying sister, deep inside she felt herself growing furious. How selfish could Bubbles be? Meanwhile their very own father had just been attacked by clearly the most dangerous villain to ever plague the city of Townsville. The threat of danger this menace poses to the lives of the all people is continually growing and the true extent of the imminent amount of death and destruction cannot even be comprehended. And here she had the nerve to cry about her stupid pet?

All these conflicting feelings were building up within her, red hot flames of inner rage burning in her soul. So many people were so selfish and ignorant in times of great need or danger, and it made her furious to even think about. She just wanted to scream at Bubbles for being this way, so childish and self-absorbed, but it took all of her will power to remain silent watching the pitiful scene.

After a moment of silence, save for Bubbles' soft cries, Buttercup finally spoke up.

"I bet he'll come back Bubbles." She said as she gave her sister a hug. "But first, lets worry about the Professor..." She said, a look of sadness suddenly crossing her typically angry, arrogant face.

"Yeah.." Bubbles said, having suddenly remembered the events from the day before. Suddenly, her face lit up. "Lets all go see him right now! I bet that would make him feel better! Can we Blossom?" She asked excitedly.

The room went quiet again until Blossom answered in a soft voice that was almost unintelligible.

"Sure, Bubbles. Lets go." She slowly got out of bed and walked towards the closet to get dressed, followed by Bubbles and Buttercup's curious eyes.

She came out dressed for the day as usual, only her normally perfect red locks were a bit messier than usual and her hairbow dropped gloomily to one side. She had deep, dark circles under her bloodshot pink eyes, and began to walk sluggishly towards her now concerned sisters.

"Blossom?" Buttercup asked as she put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Are you okay, sis?"

"Yeah." She said unconvincingly, almost sarcastically. "I'm fine."

"You never told us about what happened last night... what did you find out?" Buttercup asked.

Blossom's eyes suddenly grew wide in fear, but she quickly masked her fear of that inevitable question with casual indifference.

"Nothing really." Blossom said plainly.

"It's all so confusing..." Buttercup thought aloud. "This is Quasi we're talking about here... a ruthless, heartless, merciless killer... what made him decide to let the Professor live?"

"_Because he got what he wanted from the Professor," _Blossom wanted to say. But instead she simply shrugged and said, "I don't know."

"Okay.. But if there's something you wanna tell us, don't be afraid. We're here for you Blossom, that's what sisters are for right?" Buttercup said with a smile.

At these words tears came to Blossom's eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.

"Yeah, I know."

Bubbles and Buttercup exchanged worried glances, and started to ask Blossom something else.

"Blossom, what .."

"Well, hurry up girls! If we want to see the Professor, we'd better get moving,"she ordered, her leader-like attitude coming back suddenly.

"Okay.. Sure" Bubbles said as she and Buttercup walked towards the bathroom to get ready.

* * *

By the time the four of them came home, the sun had already begun to set, and the quiet evening twilight cast a pink and orange glow over all the city. Professor Utonium accompanied them home, having recovered enough to return from the hospital. The bruises on his face had begun to turn yellow, and his right arm was in a cast. Other than that, his presence still radiated the joy that he had always had.

Despite the horrific experiences from before, Professor Utonium seemed unscathed, even seemingly stronger than before. He was more determined than ever to catch this criminal, and felt lucky to be the sole survivor of a Quasi attack.

He seemed almost excited about it as he told his girls about his experience in excruciating detail.

"Well I was working in the X lab, just doing some simple tests with some Andiseanic Acid, to study its potentially destructive and radioactive effects, when I got this strange feeling of another presence in the room with me."

Bubbles and Buttercup sat wide-eyed and open-mouthed on the couch with the Professor, listening intently to the his story. Blossom, however, sat quietly on the recliner nearby, an unreadable look on her face.

"Just as I had this thought, something grabbed me around my neck and pulled me roughly to the ground. I jumped up, scared to death, when suddenly the very foundation of the room began to shake violently."

Bubbles and Buttercup listened with wide eyes, in awe of the incredible power that Quasi had. Blossom looked almost uncaring as the Professor told them his dreadful experience.

"Air rushed past me at lightning speed as this... force ..jumped across the room, destroying everything around it with the sheer might of its movement! It moved so fast that it looked invisible!"

"Then what happened Professor?" Bubbles asked eagerly, as though it was some sort of exciting game.

"Well, then it finally stopped and I got a good look at it."

"What did it look like Professor?" Buttercup asked excitedly.

"It was this huge monster, maybe nine.. ten feet tall. He had huge red eyes and sharp teeth. It was very odd though because it was just black... no other features whatsoever. It seemed almost like a black hole rather than a monster; everything about it except its eyes and teeth were so undistinguishable. All I could do was stand there, staring."

"Wow!" Bubbles and Buttercup said in unison, while Blossom listened quietly.

"Then, suddenly, it disappeared. It appeared behind me, having grown smaller and weaker than before, and grabbed my arm, and yanked it behind my back. He pushed me to the ground, and that's how I smashed my face." Professor Utonium said as he pointed to the bruises on his face.

"Ouch.." Buttercup said as she and Bubbles cringed and shuddered. Blossom flinched, if you could call it that, but then resumed her indifferent state.

"He kicked my side so that I rolled over on my back, and I looked up into his hideous face. Then, before my very eyes, he morphed into an even smaller, more human-like form."

"Really? Wow... what did it look like this time, Professor?" Bubbles asked.

"It looked like a human, except half of him was black, and the other half was white...but it was all mixed around like some sort of bizarre spin art. Its hard to describe really what he looks like, because, again, it was hard for me to even tell... but the way he acted and moved, he almost seemed to be made of a liquid! He had those same red eyes as before, but the his fangs had become smaller and turned into an evil grin."

"Woah... creepy.." Buttercup said, captivated by the Professor's story.

"I had figured out by then it was Quasi, so there was nothing I could do except watch helplessly as he grinned downed at me, chuckling in this awful ghost-like voice. Then, as he slowly lifted his hand of long, boney fingers, my life began to flash before my eyes. I just knew it was the end. Expecting a quick final blow, I was surprised when he simply snapped his fingers instead. In an instant I was out. I don't know how he did it.. but he somehow put me to sleep with the snap of his fingers."

"That's amazing..."Bubbles said.

"When I woke up, he was gone... I was shocked to find myself very much alive... I couldn't believe my luck.. the first and only survivor of a Quasi attack..." Professor Utonium paused for a moment, truly thinking about what he had survived, and how fortunate he had been.

"The only thing I could think of to do was to call you girls.. I couldn't believe all of what had just happened, but mostly that I was still alive.."

"Wait 'til the kids at school hear THIS!" Buttercup exclaimed suddenly.

"Yeah! This is so exciting! Our own dad.. the only survivor!" Bubbles squealed.

Bubbles and Buttercup were nearly bursting with excitement and chattering eagerly about the recent events. Professor Utonium just sat there, beaming with pride as though he was some kind of hero.

Suddenly, Blossom cried out, startling her sisters and the Professor.

"I.. I can't believe you, all of you!" She shouted, trying not to burst into tears.

"You talk about this whole thing like its so exciting... you can't wait to brag to everybody about how great your own dad is because he _survived _a deadly villain. What we should be doing is thanking whatever twist of fate allowed the Professor to live at all!"

Bubbles, Buttercup and the Professor sat in stunned silence, wide-eyed and mouths hanging open.

"This is not some fake action movie or epic story meant to be shared with the world.. This is REAL!"

"Blossom.. its not like that we just" Buttercup tried to say.

"No, don't even start. You all don't care about stopping Quasi at all. You think it will be like this forever, if he's still on the lose? The Professor... all of us have been lucky thus far, but we can't ever be safe unless Quasi is stopped!"

Buttercup opened her mouth to speak, but then lowered her head in dismal understanding. Blossom was right, nobody was safe unless this killer was stopped. Bubbles' eyes began to fill with tears, while Professor Utonium sat frozen on the couch, staring distantly ahead.

At those words Blossom, too, began to cry. After a few minutes, Professor Utonium finally broke the awkward silence.

"There's no need to get all upset over this girls. Lets just be thankful I'm okay, right?" Professor Utonium smiled and sat Bubbles and Buttercup on his lap.

"Come on Blossom, we're your family! We didn't mean to sound like we didn't take all of this seriously. Now, come here and lets all have a group hug." Professor Utonium smiled that kind, fatherly smile and gently patted the seat next to him on the couch.

Blossom's crying abruptly stopped, and she looked up toward the Professor, her eyes hollow and empty once again.

"But you still don't understand. None of you really understand the extent of danger we're in. If you did, you'd be spending less time sharing stories and more time figuring out what to do."

Professor Utonium's smile faded, and a quiet hush fell over the room. All eyes were on Blossom as she sat silently in the recliner. Professor Utonium spoke again in a serious voice, almost bordering on angry.

"We will figure out what to do, Blossom, we just need time. How can we even begin to know what to do? We barely know anything about Quasi."

"Well it's not helping anybody by sitting around doing nothing, waiting for the answers to come to us. We have to be on our guard at all times, and be prepared to fight. You're just living in a fantasy world if you're wasting your time sharing exciting stories to brag about to the world. Either we do something now, or we all die." Blossom shot back coldly.

Professor Utonium lifted Bubbles and Buttercup from his lap and sat them on the couch. He stood up very slowly and walked towards Blossom.

"What's really wrong, Blossom? What's at the root of all this?" He said in a concerned voice as he knelt in front of the chair.

"There must be something else wrong... sweetie, please tell us what's on your mind."Blossom just kept staring at the Professor as he spoke, his words seeming to go straight through her.

"Blossom, dear, we love you and we want to make sure that everything is okay. We only want to help." He caressed her cheek, a warm smile on his bruised face.

Blossom looked up at him, her ice cold eyes still burning with uncontrollable rage. Without warning, she suddenly pulled back her fist and punched him hard in the face. The force sent him hurdling across the room, knocking over the couch until finally crashing into the wall.

Blossom just sat there, that emotionless look still on her face.

* * *

Mwahaha! Cliffhanger!

And if you think you know whats going on.. YOU'RE WRONG:P


	11. Chapter 10: Saevus Saevitia

Sorry again about the delay you guys.. Been having some family trouble and such, and school's been extra busy, so I haven't gotten much time to write. This is my first fight scene, so let me know how I can make it better for future fight scenes.

Sooo.. here I am again, and a thousand apologies oh patient ones :P

Chapter 10: Saevus Saevitia

Bubbles and Buttercup stared at Blossom as though she had just sprouted two heads. Blossom stood in silence, frozen with her fist held out where she had hit the Professor only moments earlier. She paid no attention to her flabbergasted sisters as she stood staring at the demolished wall where the Professor had yet to emerge from. Suddenly her empty expression changed to that of sadness, and she began to cry softly again.

There was some slight movement underneath the rubble in the study where the Professor had crashed into. Professor Utonium grunted and groaned as he slowly stood up and stepped over the remains and into the living room towards Blossom, a mixture of anger and confusion on his face. He began to walk pitifully with his back hunched forward towards his weeping daughter. The whole right side of his face was red and blood poured steadily from a small cut on his cheek

He bravely drew close again, reaching his hand out to her in concern, determined to help whatever was the matter.

"Blossom, dear, please tell us what's wrong... Don't you see what you're doing? We just want to help, sweetheart." He said painfully. A soft rumble of thunder was heard in the distance as gray clouds began to consume the once beautiful twilight sky.

"You're what's wrong." She said, her voice dripping with bitter resentment. "I see exactly what I'm doing. I'm not going to let my family or Townsville live in danger."

She raised her gaze until her fiery eyes met his frightened and confused eyes.

"I'm going to stop you."

"What are you talking about, dear? What do you mean 'stop me'?" He said as he looked at her in confusion, a look of innocence on his face.

"The Professor never called me dear." She said as she gritted her teeth in rage.

Suddenly she leapt in the air and threw a kick on the other side of the Professor's face and neck. There was a painful crack as the impact twisted the Professor's neck, sending him face first to the ground.

Blossom landed nearby, watching intently to see what the Professor would do next. Bubbles and Buttercup hadn't moved from where they were, and they were watching the scene before them in horror and awe.

Suddenly, Blossom dashed forward and lifted the Professor from the ground by the collar of his shirt, her frightening glare burning into his dazed and confused face.

"You're not fooling anyone, Quasi. Now tell me, where is the Professor?"

Bubbles' eyes darted back and forth between Blossom and the Professor, trying to figure out just who was who. Buttercup just stood there open-mouthed, disbelieving that ANY of these people were her family.

Professor Utonium was quiet for what seemed like ages. He just stared into Blossom's fiery eyes, and the only sound in the room was the soft drizzle of the rain that started to fall outside and her heavy breathing as she tensed herself for yet another attack.

"Fine." Professor Utonium spoke in a low voice after several minutes. He then jerked his shirt from Blossom's grip as he stood up suddenly.

He just stood there, staring down at his daughter with the same kind of fire that Blossom had had in her eyes before. They locked their gaze for several minutes, and if looks could kill, they would both be burning to a crisp.

Very slowly, Professor Utonium's eyes began to glow red slightly, and then began gradually increasing in intensity. His face twisted into an awful evil grin, which was slowly being consumed by a gooey liquid substance. The substance seemed to ooze from the very pores of his skin, the right side of his face becoming a pure, featureless white and the left side becoming an empty jet black.

Once the blanket of goo had covered his whole face, the only features still distinguishable were his glowing red eyes, and his big evil grin. Then the same substance slowly began to cover his whole body, white twisting and swirling into black and black melting into metallic white.

Once the metamorphosis was complete, Quasi lifted his head and looked into Blossom's eyes, a sadistic grin on his face. Blossom didn't even flinch, but instead stood very still, watching Quasi to see what he would do next.

After several minutes he then chuckled softly in a ghostly voice and then began to speak.

"Well well well.. It looks like the smart one figured me out eh? I'm impressed Blossom, thoroughly impressed. I certainly underestimated you, didn't I? How could I even imagine to trick such a wise and powerful leader?" He said and then burst into a fit of laughter.

Blossom gritted her teeth but still remained motionless in fighting stance, preparing for action.

Quasi's laughing suddenly ceased. And then he shot Blossom a curious smirk and cocked his head to one side.

"What's wrong sweetheart? Do I make you angry?"

"I'll ask you again. Where is the Professor?" Blossom said under her breath in a low growl.

Quasi's eyes grew wide in mock surprise, and then he pretended to look frightened. He then grinned again and his eyes became even more menacing than before.

"Fine. You girls are no fun." He simply threw his chin in the air and folded his arms.

"Tell us where the Professor is!" Bubbles shouted suddenly, causing both Blossom and Quasi to look her direction in surprise.

A wide grin grew across Quasi's face again.

"I don't know."

His arm shot out suddenly and stretched like rubber towards Blossom's neck, gripping it tightly before she even had time to gasp.

"He managed to escape before I could do the dirty work." He picked her up in the air, his arm moving like a tentacle, as he held her close to his face.

"But no matter. He doesn't concern me any longer. I've already taken his chemical X, and now all I have left to do is destroy the only thing that's in my way."

Bubbles and Buttercup gasped as Blossom was suddenly lifted up higher into the air, and then slammed face-first into the ground, with enough force to send her through the floor with a deafening crash into the underground laboratory.

A flash of lightening filled the room, the silhouette of Quasi casting shadows that fell on Bubbles and Buttercup as they stood in shock. A loud clap of thunder soon followed, and then a violent deluge of rain poured down onto the roof with increasing intensity.

Buttercup leapt towards Quasi with his back turned, fist back, screaming in rage. In only a split second, Quasi had spun around, and his right arm had morphed into a muscular, monster-like black arm. He slammed Buttercup hard across the face, sending her spinning across the room until she caught herself and swivelled around to face him in midair. She wiped away her bleeding lip and glared at Quasi, trying frantically in her head to prepare her next attack.

Suddenly Quasi's grin turned into a gasp of surprise as a deafening crack filled the air and he stumbled forward clumsily. Floating in midair behind him was Bubbles, frozen with her foot forward, having landed a hard kick on the back of his head.

Buttercup was silent in surprise for a moment, but then took the opportunity to fly towards Quasi again while he was still in a daze. Quasi barely had time to turn his head to see what had hit him when Buttercup slammed him across the face with a hard, furious, and well-placed punch that would've shattered a block of cement fifty feet thick. At that same moment, Bubbles darted across the room and flew towards Quasi, hitting him in the stomach with that same fury and intensity.

This double assault pattern continued for a minute or two, each attack following the next so quickly that Quasi had no time to even think, much less fight back. Once Bubbles and Buttercup sensed him weakening, they stopped suddenly, and regrouped on the opposite side of the room, breathing heavily but still prepared for action.

Quasi stumbled backwards dazed and dizzy from such an unexpected attack. He fell to one knee, gasping for breath and staring at the ground. He lifted his head up to face them, a look of surprise and anger in his eyes. He stared breathing heavily for several minutes, trying to compose himself after such a powerful onslaught.

He then began to grin and chuckle slightly, causing Bubbles and Buttercup's eyes to grow wide in shock. His chuckling soon grew into evil laughter as he stood up and grinned mockingly at his astonished attackers.

After a few moments, Bubbles and Buttercup exchanged knowing glances and nodded at each other. They then smirked at Quasi, catching him off guard and causing him to stop laughing and stare in surprise. They each brought a foot back, preparing to attack and giggling to themselves, while Quasi still stared in disbelief.. only for real this time.

Quasi's disbelief quickly turned to surprise when he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his chin and heard an excruciating crack. He felt his neck jerk backwards, and barely registered himself falling backwards as his mind became clouded with the agonizing pain.

Just as planned, Blossom had shot through the floor of the room, sending splinters and debris flying everywhere, and delivered a powerful blow to Quasi's chin. Bubbles and Buttercup grinned even wider when they saw the look of surprise upon their enemy's face.

They both jumped forward and began attacking Quasi simultaneously, punching and kicking with all their might, fueled only by their rage. After several minutes of this merciless barrage, Quasi suddenly grew furious and screamed in annoyance, at the same time sending a blinding shockwave in all directions, knocking the girls across the room.

When the girls had recovered from the momentary daze, they stared in awe at the sight of Quasi, glowing an eerie white light and walking towards them, a furious glare on his face. Once again the tables had turned, and these once confident heros began to shrink under this evil villains glare.

Although afraid, the girls slowly rose to their feet, determined and angry looks masking their clearly frightened feelings. At this, Quasi seemed to suddenly explode with even more power, sending yet another shockwave of pure white evil energy all around him, making all the windows explode and making the girls fall to their feet again.

The curtains were whipped around, flapping helplessly in the in fury of the harsh winds and stinging rain that began to blow into the room. Quasi suddenly stopped walking towards the girls, and suddenly the psychotic grin returned to his face as he devised another malicious plan. He sensed the girls' fear, he could even almost smell the fear coming from their very souls. He decided he would have a little fun with them before finishing them off for good; make them wish they had never been born.

He began to laugh that wicked, sadistic laugh again, causing the girls to step back involuntarily in apprehension of Quasi's next attack, despite their die-hard determination and fiery rage.

When he stopped again, he looked into the girls' frightened eyes, smirked and began to speak.

"Well this doesn't seem like a fair fight, now does it? Three against one?" He sighed to himself and then put a look of mock worry on his face.

"You're one to talk about fair fights! You killed a defenseless little girl and a poor old man." Blossom spat back at him.

"You don't deserve a fair fight." She growled.

Quasi said nothing else, and instead began to morph right before their very eyes.

He sank low to the ground, and then began to grow very wide, stretching across the floor like taffy, until he suddenly snapped apart into three different piles of goop. Each pile slowly rose up from the ground, forming three separate bodies much to the girls' surprise and horror.

The bodies were each a carbon copy of Quasi himself, only shorter - about the size of the girls themselves. They just stood there, chuckling in high-pitched voices, enjoying the looks of fright and confusion upon their enemies' faces.

"It's time you picked on somebody your own size." The three said together in unison with a smirk and a chuckle.

Then, without warning, the three mini-versions of Quasi simultaneously leapt forward to attack.

The girls didn't even have enough time to cover their faces with their arms to defend themselves before the three evil pests were already upon them.

Blow after blow was perfectly planned and carried out. Each punch and kick hit with inhuman accuracy, and the girls couldn't stop the onslaught no matter how hard they tried to throw a punch.

Bubbles was hit hard in the face but caught herself in midair, turned around and threw a kick towards the mini-Quasi's face. She gasped when she felt her foot grabbed suddenly, just before it hit mini-Quasi's smirking face. Mini-Quasi then swung Bubbles around by her foot, picking up speed and momentum until finally letting her go.

Buttercup had locked hands with her mini-Quasi, pushing forward with all her might while he hadn't even broken a sweat, and yet still overpowered by his inhuman strength. He let go suddenly, letting Buttercup nearly fall over in surprise. She stumbled forward slightly and when she looked up mini-Quasi had vanished. He appeared several feet away, laughing like a little gremlin at her dazed and confused expression. Before she even had time to attack again, Bubbles came crashing into her, knocking them both to the ground while both mini-Quasis laughed like crazy.

Meanwhile, Blossom was having just as much trouble attacking her own mini-Quasi. She launched an assault of eye beams, which mini-Quasi dodged nimbly and countered with a kick in the jaw. Blossom stumbled backwards and then retaliated with a fierce ice breath surprise attack.

Mini-Quasi was frozen in his tracks, and Blossom felt she had the upper hand. She flew towards him and prepared to strike while mini-Quasi was a defenseless block of ice, when suddenly the ice began to melt rapidly much to Blossom's surprise and dismay. Mini-Quasi burst into flames and melted the ice almost instantly, unfortunately too late for Blossom and her attack. She threw her punch towards mini-Quasi's stomach, but instead was met with a painful burning surprise.

She yelped and stumbled backwards, grasping her burned and bleeding hand. Mini-Quasi wasted no time in hitting Blossom in the stomach, causing her to fall to her knees and gasp for breath. He then kicked her in the side, causing her to roll across the room next to her barely-conscious sisters.

After several minutes, the girls began to stand up slowly, much to the mini-Quasi's surprise.

Again they prepared to attack, despite the cuts and bruises all over their bodies. As if on cue, the mini-Quasis began to regroup and walk towards each other, until finally morphing back to Quasi himself.

"Well, I'm very impressed girls. You lasted longer than I thought you would." He said in genuine surprise, but then grinned evilly at them.

"Looks like I'll just have to cut to the chase then." He pretended to look at a nonexistent watch. "This is taking far longer than I had hoped for."

Quasi said nothing else but instead began to morph yet again. He began to melt down into the floor, creating a puddle that spread across the ground and surrounded the girls' feet as they slowly backed up against the wall. They flew into the air, but were soon dragged down to the ground as several strands of Quasi's sticky body shot up into the air and wrapped tightly around their arms and legs.

They were each pulled into the substance one by one, discovering it to be like fly paper as they struggled to pull themselves free. The pulsing, gurgling goo then began to consume their bodies, ignoring their muffled screams for help as it wrapped around their mouths and faces.

The girls felt themselves grow weaker as their chemical X was being slowly sucked from their bodies. Buttercup continued to punch and kick the goo, but without any luck as she was sucked even deeper with each blow. Bubbles had begun to cry as she wiggled and struggled to get free, letting her fear come to the surface as she, too, was being absorbed.

Blossom, however, had stopped struggling long ago and let herself be consumed in silence. She closed her eyes and just waited for the end.

_It's just as well I suppose. Lets just die now.. and end it. This was all my fault anyway. If only I had stopped Quasi when I had the chance that one night... and... and now my sisters are going to die because of my stupid mistake. _

Blossom's eyes snapped open as she thought deeply about this.

_If we don't stop him.. he'll put the whole world in danger... not only will I be responsible for my sister's deaths, but the whole world will perish.._

"I.. I can't let that happen.." Blossom whispered to herself.

Quasi was sitting across the room in the recliner, watching gleefully as he sucked up the girls' powers. He stood up and walked towards the puddle of black and white chemicals. They throbbed and pulsed as they sucked up the chemical X, growing stronger by the second.

Suddenly, a powerful pink blast pierced a large a hole in the puddle of goo. Quasi suddenly gasped and doubled over in pain, falling to his knees as he felt his body being town apart. Very slowly Blossom began to emerge from the chemical, despite its powerful grip on her arms and legs. A strange pink aura began to glow around her body as she powered up with what was left of her chemical X.

Instantly the goo retreated back to Quasi, melting back into his body and giving him a burst of fresh energy. Bubbles and Buttercup where left cold and weak on the ground, shaking and shivering in shock. Blossom helped her sisters up, luckily finding them to be weak, but with about a fourth of their original chemical X still within them.

Blossom turned to face a clearly flabbergasted Quasi, stepping forward in front of her weakened sisters to protect them. She glared at him with even more savage rage burning within her than before, and prepared to attack yet again despite her disadvantage.

Quasi merely scoffed and chuckled, feeling confident after such a sharp increase in his own power. He put one foot back, taking a fighting stance and smirking at his enraged adversary.

"Bring it on."

Thankies for reading everyone!


	12. Chapter 11: Blood, Sweat and Tears

Howdy again! Here's the next chapter everyone! Glad it didn't take so long this time, otherwise y'all would've killed me lol.

So here ya go, hope you like it!

Chapter 11: Blood, Sweat and Tears

* * *

Heavy winds howled and moaned as they blew through the now shattered windows of the Utonium chateau and into the darkened living room. The rain had stopped long ago, but the rumbling gray clouds had yet to disappear from the cold night sky. 

In the overcast shadows, Blossom's eyes appeared to be an ice cold gray, and her pupils a hollow black. She glared at the monstrosity before her, playing out in her head all the different ways she could destroy him.

They both stood stone still, staring each other down with icy glares, seemingly frozen in time as the cool wind continued to blow into the room.

Bubbles was laying against the wall, too weak to barely even move. She kept opening and closing her blurry red eyes as though she would pass out at any moment. She turned her head a little towards her 'oldest' sister, and managed to smile slightly, despite her excruciating pain. Even in the most hopeless situations, Blossom managed to always pull them through. If it wasn't for Blossom, none of them would have even dreamed of lasting this long. Countless battles against evil villains have been won under Blossom's leadership, and Bubbles truly owed her sister her life. She continued staring at her sister with a smile of contentment and pride until she passed out as the dizzy feelings overcame her.

Buttercup was on her hands and knees, breathing heavily and staring at the ground, watching it become blurry with the tears that were building up in her eyes. This villain had proven just what the girls had been afraid of: he contained a power so great that no hero could match it. Buttercup had always lived her life in competition, trying to be the best at everything. When the harsh reality suddenly came crashing in on her, she felt herself caving inside, and now the bravest of puffs was using all her willpower to keep from crying.

Fear. She had hardly ever known fear. She had always masked any emotions with anger, indifference or arrogance, so she had never truly known what it was like to be afraid. Fear of death, not only for herself but for her family, friends and the entire world. She looked up and saw her sister standing there, glaring at Quasi as though the fight had just now begun, a look a fierceness in her eyes that said they still had a chance of winning.

Blossom. The rivalry of leadership. She always envied Blossom, and wanted so badly to be the leader, and thus, the "favorite." But now, as she sat on her hands and knees weaker than ever before, she realized that they were equals all along. The three of them had fought side by side as equal members of a untied team, holding onto that same hope of destroying this evil and saving the world.

She wanted so much to keep believing in that hope. As she watched her sister stand up to this villain, she wanted so much to believe there was still a chance. Instead she felt herself deeply afraid, her mind so clouded with doubts that she could do nothing else except sit there, contemplating her final moments of life.

After what seemed like ages, Quasi finally started to walk towards Blossom. As he drew closer, Blossom threw up her hands in preparation to attack. Quasi stopped right in front of her, and lifted his right hand high in the air, about the deliver the final blow.

However, he stopped suddenly, and spoke to Blossom in that same echoing evil voice.

"I must thank you, Blossom, for the valiant effort. It was quite fun while it lasted, wouldn't you say?" Quasi smiled and laughed a little.

"But I'm afraid I'll have to end my fun, dear, this is taking much longer than I had expected."

And with that he brought his hand forcefully downwards towards Blossom with one simple slashing motion.

Splatters of blood dotted the floor, and Quasi jumped backwards in horrid surprise.

Blossom stood with her burned and bleeding right hand swung around to her left side, a frightening glare upon her face. She had swung her hand around at the last instant, throwing a stream of her own blood straight into Quasi's red eyes.

He grunted and growled in annoyance as the blood stung and burned. Blossom lunged at Quasi, blowing a fierce blast of ice breath right onto Quasi's bloody, stinging eyes. She then proceeded to throw several punches to his face as he howled and hollered, continuing to rub his eyes vigorously.

And finally, after punching and kicking harder than any puff had ever done, she tilted her head towards his torso, and shot a final blast of red hot eye beams point-blank, the rush of energy sending him flying across the room until he crashed into the opposite wall.

Blossom wiped the sweat from her brow, breathing heavily. She suddenly noticed a spot of red on her stockings, and looked down to discover the cut on her foot from and fell to her knees as her legs gave way, and all her energy having suddenly left her. She looked up hopefully at Quasi, watching intently to see if her attack had been successful.

Quasi didn't move for a long time, causing Blossom to feel a surge of joy as he remained motionless in the crater he had made in the wall. Suddenly he fell forward to the floor on his hands and knees, before slowly getting up to his feet again.

Blossom felt her heart sink in her chest as she saw him stand again, the smoking hole in Quasi's stomach quickly repairing itself. Quasi was now more angry than ever before, enraged at Blossom's inability to give up. The ice had already melted off his eyes, a mixture of blood and water now running down his face from his glaring red eyes.

Blossom's breathing had turned into short gasps as this furious villain advanced toward her for the final time. This was truly the end.. she had no more energy left to use, even in her Hardcore state. She looked down to the ground and squeezed her eyes shut, just waiting for the end to come.

A strange shriek was heard. It was a ghostly mixture between a yelp, a cry, and a scream. Blossom jerked her head upwards and stared wide-eyed at her potential killer. He was almost upon her when he had stopped suddenly, a look of pure shock and surprise on his face. He stumbled forward, grasping his right shoulder with a look of agony on his face.

He swivelled around to face what had attacked him, and both Blossom and Quasi gasped in astonishment.

There, standing in the doorway, was the bruised and beaten form of Professor Utonium himself. He had silently pulled a small container of a deep red, bubbling substance from his coat pocket, waited for just the right moment, and then he had thrown the chemical at Quasi's back, causing him to double over in pain.

Quasi screeched and hollered as he felt the pain take effect, and stumbled around the room in a clumsy daze. Professor Utonium ran over to his fallen girls, knelt next to them and checked to make sure they were okay.

But Quasi's ghostly voice then shook the Professor out of his thoughtful, worried state.

"You may have won this battle, but this is far from over. I'll be back, Utonium, and I'll give you the pleasure of watching your girls die, one by one. And then you'll join them soon after." Quasi choked out between groans and gasps of pain.

Quasi then staggered to the open doorway, took one last look at the Professor and the girls, and then vanished.

* * *

Thanks y'all for readin'! 


	13. Chapter 12: Revelations

Here's the next chap everybody! Hope you enjoy it :) ..(sorry its not action-packed,..don't worry.. more action to come :P)

Chapter 12: Revelations

* * *

Blossom's consciousness returned slowly, like warm, thick molasses, a feeling of security and comfort all around her. Alone in eternal darkness, she longed for light.

_Am I dead? _She thought to herself, her mind still in a daze.

She tried to open her eyes, but found them to be tired and heavy. She felt a cool cloth being pressed on her forehead, and began to sense a presence very nearby. She managed to open her eyes slightly, and was met with the blurry image of the Professor as he tended to her wounds. She felt a surge of joy at seeing him again, and had she had the energy, would've jumped up right then and given him a hug. But instead all she could do was lay in bed, sighing with contentment.

As her eyes quickly adjusted to the light, she began to inspect the bandages on her hand, forehead and face. She looked over to her sleeping sisters and saw that they, too, were covered in bandages but still okay.

Finally Blossom called out to the Professor, her voice scratchy and dry.

"Professor?" She said slowly, surprised at the raspy sound of her own voice, and the taste of gauze and blood in her mouth.

"Yes, Blossom?" He said as he ran his hand through her dry, lifeless hair which was plastered to her feverish skin.

"W-what happened?" She said, her rough voice causing her to stutter.

"You're safe now." Professor Utonium assured her, though he averted his eyes unconvincingly.

No longer was she the stronger being than him. He was now truly a father, protecting his children from danger and telling them that everything was going to be okay.

"But what happened?" Blossom asked incredulously.

"Antidote X." He said simply, but still sadly.

Blossom's eyes lit up as she heard this.

"We should've thought of that long ago!" Blossom exclaimed, despite her weak voice. "Now he's gone for good!"

But Professor Utonium didn't act so excited. He instead looked towards the ground and sighed.

"..Right Professor?" Blossom asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not Blossom. The only sample of Antidote X I found was too small to do any significant damage." He said dismally. "It was only enough to buy us a little more time to think of a plan."

"Oh." Blossom said, disappointed.

There was a moment of silence, as both of them pondered the sheer hopelessness of the situation. What plan could they come up with? How long did they even have before Quasi had recovered enough to attack again?

"Professor?" Blossom asked again after a long time, "Where DID you find the Antidote X? Where have you been?" She said, a hint of annoyance and impatience in her voice.

Professor Utonium looked visibly hurt when he heard the irritation in her voice, and Blossom too was surprised at her own reaction. He cringed as he thought about the awful memories, causing Blossom to recoil in surprise, and bring tears to her eyes.

"I'm sorry Professor.. I.. I didn't mean it.. its just.. we were so worried.. once we realized it was just Quasi in disguise... we were so scared about where you were.. "

"I understand Blossom." He smiled at her sadly and wiped away her tears.

".. But what happened Professor?" Blossom inquired again as she eyed the bruises and cuts on the Professor's face.

Although he seemed to dread telling the tale, he sighed and slowly began to speak, his voice depressed and soft.

"Well ... After you girls when to school the other day, I was working on some samples of certain chemicals when I ...I suddenly felt a strange presence behind me. I turned around and saw Quasi standing there, plain as day, staring me down with that awful evil smile." He said with a shudder.

"He was half black, half white.. and his whole body seemed to be a liquid, dripping and oozing onto the floor. He looked so strange when I first saw him.. and yet also familiar." He explained thoughtfully.

"Strange.." Blossom said in awe.

"So he started to attack, lunging at me again and again. I managed to dodge most of his attacks though, I guess out of pure adrenaline and will to live. He kept changing his size, I guess to try and throw me off guard, and attacking me from all different directions with incredible force."

"Then what happened Professor?"

"Well, he did manage to hit me a few times, but luckily he didn't knock me out... otherwise I would've been a goner for sure. He kept asking me where the chemical X was, and I refused to tell him. I don't know what I was thinking.. I could've gotten myself killed by refusing him... but I still don't believe what I did next. As he was about to attack again, I threw any glass bottle or test tube I could get my hands on at him. It didn't distract him for long, but long enough for me to dash up the stairs, and out the front door."

"Wow.." Blossom said in wonder.

"When I first laid eyes on him, I could tell right away that the black substance was quite obviously chemical X, because there was no other way he could be so powerful. But then I thought 'where did that chemical X come from?'"

"Yeah.. I've wondered that too.. Where did Quasi come from?" Blossom echoed.

"Well, as I was running down the street, trying to put as much distance between me and Quasi as possible, I thought through all of these things and finally came to the conclusion that the only other person who ever had chemical X besides me was Professor Hardly."

"Of course!" Blossom exclaimed.

"So I did the only thing I _could _do: I ran all the way to the edge of town, and to the very source of Quasi's creation: Powerpuff Xtreme Industries. How I even made it, I don't know.. I was barely conscious by the time I got there, but luckily I made it inside before nightfall and before the rain. I was so dizzy, and the pain was so great, that I just collapsed right there on the dusty floor..."

"I don't know how long I was out, but when I came to I started to search the factory, looking for just the thing I needed to stop Quasi, if only temporarily. When I looked around inside I found all the clues I needed... All the money from the bank.. every piece of merchandise missing from Cole's Diamonds.."

"Amazing.." Blossom said, fascinated. "So I guess Hardly's old factory was kind of like Quasi's headquarters?"

"Exactly. And not only that, but I also found the antidote X I needed to stop Quasi for now and some other things as well. I was disappointed when the only sample of antidote X I found was so small, which Hardly stole from me I'm sure..."

* * *

Professor Utonium sat in the chemistry lab alongside his old buddy Dick Hardly at Townsville University. The year, 1971. Professor Utonium was eagerly working on a bubbling red chemical, an antidote for a recent chemical he created and he had still been testing. His eyes lit up with joy and excitement as he stirred the chemical again and again.

Dick yawned and stretched, eyeing a couple of girls across the room with a smirk. He was shaken out of his though when a short, middle-aged man slapped a ruler on the desk and glared at idle Dick.

"Hardly, get to work now." He said sternly, and then turned to the whole class. "I want the antidote to each of your original chemicals ready by the end of class. And it'd better work too, unless you all want a big, fat F."

He shot a look at Dick who was smiling nervously. Once the teacher had passed, Hardly scowled and grumbled to himself.

_What am I gonna do? _He thought. _I don't even have any of the original project done.. So there's no way I can come up with an antidote by the end of class..._

He turned his attention to the ecstatic Professor Utonium, who was still playing around with his project, and smiled menacingly to himself as he came up with a plan.

"Hey, Utonium, I think one of those girls over there is lookin' at ya!" He said excitedly and pointed.

Professor Utonium's head shot up, and he looked over at the girls who were working on their projects across the room. He blushed and smiled nervously, even though the girls weren't even looking.

In that split second, Dick poured a bit of Professor Utonium's chemical into his own flask, and chuckled to himself as the Professor continued his work the next moment, completely unaware.

* * *

Blossom stared at the now glaring Professor quizzically, who was obviously off in another world. She waited for a few minutes, and then tried to get his attention again.

"Um.. what else did you find Professor?" Blossom asked slowly.

Professor Utonium's expression changed to that of surprise, but soon found his voice and started to explain.

"Well I also found a broken flask of chemical X on the floor, and some definite signs of a powerful explosion."

"Huh.. I wonder.." Blossom trailed off. "... how did Quasi even come to life?"

"Well an X-powered being can't be composed of just chemical X alone... at least I don't think... It needs a stimulus of some kind.. or.. a chemical reaction to create life."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that chemical X and antidote X wasn't all that I found there. I took back with me another chemical, that still has yet to be studied. I'm almost positive that its this chemical that surely started the chemical reaction that brought Quasi to life."

"Wow..." Blossom said again.

They sat in silence again, with nothing more to say. After a few minutes Professor Utonium stood up and walked to the bedroom door. Blossom's eyes followed the Professor as he walked slowly to the door. Before leaving he turned to her, a look of deep sadness in his eyes.

"I'm going to go take a look at that other chemical...see what I can find out... we don't have much time."

Before Blossom could answer, he was already out of sight.

* * *

Professor Utonium sat in silence in the middle of his now-destroyed X-lab, conducting various tests on the tiny sample of the mysterious white chemical he found in Hardly's old factory.

He studied it closely under a microscope, discovering it to be radioactive in nature. He was surprised to find it to have similar properties to chemical X itself, but only without the defects. He stared, astounded, at the impossible and seemingly nonexistent chemical.. right before his very eyes.

This new chemical was absolutely perfect. Not a single defect.. but still extremely reactive. He began to contemplate the sheer multitude of the discovery he had made.. the perfect chemical? He would be laughed right out of a job.. but there was no mistaking what he'd found.

As he inspected it closer, he began to come to a horrific and surreal revelation. He'd seen this chemical before. But where? He thought hard.. until the memory came back to him in a flash...

* * *

Townsville University, 1970. It was Professor Utonium's first semester at college, and he had already made what he thought was the greatest breakthrough in modern science. His college buddies had mocked him for his constant studying, and howled when he told them of his great achievement.

None had believed him, all but buddy and roommate Professor Dick Hardly. Dick knew of Professor Utonium's genius from day one. He watched curiously as Utonium spent hours on end perfecting his newest creations, all of which were great successes.

Dick was jealous of Utonium. So much so that he even stole from Utonium to get higher grades and honors at school, right under Utonium's nose. While all the others laughed at Utonium for his ambition about his latest creation, Dick knew that it was surely true, and he'd better cash in now while he could.

One morning, while Utonium was still asleep after a long night of studying, Dick quietly crept out of bed and over to Utonium's lab tools and experiments. He found the white glowing chemical, the nameless chemical, except for the strange letter X written on the test tube.

He quietly poured a tiny sample for himself, chuckling silently at his luck.

_Who'd have thought I'd be living with a genius? I'll be a millionaire! _He thought gleefully to himself.

Once the task was complete, he hid the small tube in his backpack, and turned to head back to bed.

He froze suddenly, the thought that was coming to him making him grin from ear to ear. He wasn't done yet, oh no. He tiptoed back to the experiments, and proceeded to dump all sorts of chemicals into the once pure white nameless chemical. He even grabbed a few slices of half eaten pizza, and dirty socks! With each new ingredient added, it slowly changed from white to red to green to blue and then finally to black. He chuckled as he scurried back to bed, leaving Utonium to wake up hours later to discover his greatest creation, ruined.

This resulting chemical, that would later be called chemical X, would still result in Utonium's success, despite Dick's attempts to thwart it. From that ruined creation, the Powerpuff Girls were born, a wonderful gift to the seemingly cursed city of Townsville.

But the original pure chemical was long lost, and what had happened then would still mystify the Professor to this day. What would have come of this pure chemical X? What kind of power could it contain?

Professor Utonium assumed he would never know.

Until today.

* * *

Dun dun dunnnn.. ! thanks for reading! 


	14. Chapter 13: Genesis

Here's the next chap guys! Sorry I know its short, but I just had to create a cliffhanger, Mwahaha!

Chapter 13: Genesis

* * *

Professor Utonium leapt backwards out of his chair, away from the pure chemical X as though it was nitroglycerin bound to explode any second. He stared in disbelief at the once lost chemical before him, the embodiment of all his hard work and genius, as a mixture of joy, excitement and fear churned in his stomach.

_Perhaps.. This is what we need. This is our last hope.. _He thought to himself as he began to let himself relax and feel a wave of relief flow over him.

He stood there, pondering countless ideas he had in the depths of his mind, each one more impossible sounding than the last. This was the only glimmer of hope they had, but what on earth could they do with it?

_Perhaps the girls could drink it.. their powers would increase exponentially! _His mind was racing as he gleefully thought of all the possibilities, until he suddenly brought his head down, dismayed.

_But.. It could surely destroy their bodies.. and I can't risk that. I haven't tested it much yet.. and I don't have time to experiment on it any longer. But from what I can tell, this chemical is too reactive and too dangerous .. no telling what effects it could have when ingested. _

After a few more moments of silence, Professor Utonium gasped and looked up again, wide-eyed. In the next instant, he was already turned around, heading up the stairs towards the girls room.

* * *

Professor Utonium was surprised to find his bandaged and bruised girls sitting at the round pink table in the middle of their room, conversing quietly amongst themselves, no doubt trying to make a plan.

"Girls? What're you up to?" He walked up to them curiously, and they each looked up at him with serious eyes.

"Well, we're mapping out various battle plans and techniques.. we're hoping to catch Quasi off guard, since the element of surprise has seemed effective before." Blossom said seriously, but also with a hint of a smirk.

Professor Utonium smiled. His girls had the most determination he had ever seen. Even Bubbles was pumped for a rematch, no matter how hopeless the battle seemed. Each girl exchanged confident glances, before Blossom spoke yet again.

"Professor, I have a theory about Quasi.. let me see what you think."

"Okay, sure." Professor Utonium said as he sat in one of the little chairs.

"Well, according to my theory, because Quasi's chemical composition is only chemical X, he would be very unstable, right?"

"Yes, he would.. that's right." Professor Utonium said thoughtfully.

"Well, as a result, Quasi would be constantly running out of power. He would need a recharge periodically, so that's why he came to absorb the chemical X from you, because he ran out of the leftover chemical X back in Hardly's factory."

"That makes sense." The Professor said.

"He always needs chemical X, but he's already absorbed almost all of it. So according to my theory, he should eventually become powerless.. "

Professor Utonium thought for a moment, and then smiled sadly at Blossom.

"Yes, that's true. Quasi's power would eventually fade.. IF he had only been made of the chemical X we know of."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've done some studies on that mystery chemical I found in Hardly's lab."

"What did you find out?"

"Come down to the lab and let me show you, I think I may have a plan." He said as he led the girls down the stairs through the living room, still badly damaged as a reminder of the fight with Quasi, and to the lab.

* * *

"I've also been thinking about different theories I have about what could defeat Quasi," Professor Utonium explained once inside the X Lab. "And I've discovered that his chemical composition is just what I've suspected."

"What is it Professor?" Blossom asked eagerly.

"He's made of two chemicals," he said. "The first chemical is chemical X like you girls had thought," He casually pointed to a large flask of black chemical X on the table, the only one left.

"What else is he made of Professor..?" Bubbles asked in wonder.

"The second chemical is some of this..." He walked over to the table and took out the tiny test tube filled with a strange, white, almost glowing chemical.

"What is it Professor?" Buttercup asked, fascinated by the glow of the chemical.

"This is also chemical X." He explained.

"What? But it doesn't look like chemical X Professor!" Bubbles protested.

"Exactly. This is the true form of chemical X. Completely refined of all impurities."

"...Impurities?" Blossom asked.

"Yes, the version of chemical X that you girls are created with has many impurities," He explained. "It was thought impossible to even find a sample of pure chemical X again."

"Wow.." All the girls stared in wonder at the glowing chemical.

After a few minutes Professor Utonium walked over to a big black pot on the table and opened the tube of the refined chemical X. He turned and smiled nervously at the girls as he explained what he was about to do.

"The only way to defeat Quasi, is with another puff who is also pure. As you know, you girls are made up of impure chemical X, and this new puff will be made of pure chemical X. When you team up, you'll surely have a fighting chance against Quasi. Fight fire with fire, they always say."

"Hey... yeah! That's right!"Blossom said after thinking for a moment. "But wait Professor... if Quasi was made with pure X, and he's evil... won't this new Puff be evil too?"

Professor Utonium smiled knowingly. "I'm glad you asked that Blossom, because I have yet another theory on this subject myself."

"Oh?" Blossom inquired.

"Yes. My theory is that a puff will take on the personality of its creator. The Rowdyruff boys were evil because Mojo created them. You girls are good because I created you. Unfortunately, the theory does have a fault."

"How so?" Blossom asked, fascinated with the concept.

"Well, when Professor Hardly created his artificial puffs, they had good hearts... but their creator was evil...and so the theory in that case was proven false. We can only hope that by creating this new puff, my theory will be true, and it will not be evil like Quasi."

The girls nodded their heads in reluctant understanding of the apparent risks involved. Should the new puff be evil, it would be inconceivably powerful because of the refined chemical X and surely impossible for the girls to defeat.

"My studies on refined chemical X are still very young, but I've concluded that the only way for me to stimulate life in pure X is by fire. As far as I can tell, that's the only thing that could've brought Quasi to life back in Hardly's factory."

Professor Utonium carefully poured all of the contents of the little test tube in the empty black pot. He then turned to the girls with serious eyes.

"I only wanted to do this as a last resort... and it seems we have no choice girls. Cross your fingers."

He then lit a match and dropped it into the pot. He hurried to the other side of the room, closely followed by his girls.

The enormous explosion that sounded shook the very foundation of the lab, if not the whole neighborhood. Professor Utonium instinctively grabbed his girls tightly, shielding them from the blast with his own body.

When Professor Utonium came to, he found his vision to be blurry and his mind clouded. He quickly shook the dizzy feelings away as he and his girls slowly climbed to their feet.

An eerie smoke poured all over the laboratory, and the Professor's unknown creation slowly came into view.

All three girls and the Professor gasped simultaneously when they realized what they were seeing.

* * *

I'll just take forever to write the next part now, HAHA (j/k) :P


	15. Chapter 14: Angel of Chemical X: A Dorma...

Here I am again.. sowwy for the wait > ;;

Hope you like!

Chapter 14: Angel of Chemical X: A Dormant Power

* * *

As the smoke faded, the creation's form came more clearly into view.

The girls looked on fearfully as the puff's form became more visible. All three girls gasped again when they saw that the puff was not a puff at all..but a ruff.

Once the smoke had cleared away one could clearly see the ruff's short and spiky metallic white hair pulled back in a ponytail and pale visage. The ruff was wearing an outfit similar to the Rowdyruff Boys' typical attire, he wore black pants and ruff-style sneakers. The only difference was that his shirt was a silvery white.

Clearly the most striking feature about this new ruff was his cold teal-colored eyes. They had a lustrous shine, much like the metallic glow of the refined chemical X. These beautiful glistening eyes roamed around the room as they studied their new surroundings.

The new ruff's attention quickly fell upon the still astounded girls as they stared at the Professor's new creation, each deep in thought.

Instantly the straight face of the new ruff brightened into a wide grin.

"Hiya!" He said loudly in a pleasant voice that seemed to float on air.

He hopped off the table and walked up to Professor Utonium. The Professor could do nothing but merely gape and gawk at this new life before him, the embodiment of his greatest achievement. He didn't know whether to embrace this new ruff or back away from him in fear. Instead he just kept rubbing his eyes, incredulous of the sight before him.

The ruff stared at the Professor curiously, watching him to see what would happen next. After a few moments of silence, however, the ruff finally spoke in a voice so joyous and full of energy.

"I'm Brio!" The ruff said as he held out his hand in front of the Professor.

Professor Utonium just continued standing there wide-eyed and shocked for a moment or two. Suddenly he snapped out of his stupor long enough to return the handshake with trembling hands.

"Umm.. Nice to m- meet you B-brio." Professor Utonium said, his voice shaking.

"What's your name?" Brio excitedly asked him.

Professor Utonium stood silent again for a moment, before finally stuttering out his answer.

"P-P-Professor Utonium." He managed to say.

Brio then turned his attention to the girls who still stood aghast at the scene before them.

"What're your names?" He inquired.

"I'm Blossom," Blossom replied emotionlessly, once she had found her voice again.

"I.. I'm B-Bubbles," Bubbles said timidly, shaking out of anxious fear.

"Buttercup," Buttercup announced, in an almost hostile voice, while glaring at this new ruff.

An awkward silence fell over them as each they stood staring at Brio. Finally the Professor broke the silence, knowing that their time was running short.

"Brio, we need your help." Professor Utonium said firmly, his fears from before having faded away.

"There's an evil monster, with incredible power.. he's called Quasi.. he's going to destroy our city, even the world ...and we desperately need your help to defeat it."

Again an urgent silence fell over them, as they all awaited Brio's response. Brio just stood still studying the Professor's face, and by looking in his eyes you could honestly not tell what he was thinking.

After a long time, Brio finally spoke again.

"You don't need me to defeat him."

"Of course we do! He easily overpowered the strongest heros on the planet," he shouted, gesturing towards the girls, "and the only way to defeat him is with a hero made from pure chemical X."

Brio didn't even flinch at the Professor's sudden and harsh reaction. He merely stood frozen, staring at the Professor in wonder. He then began to stare at his hand for a minute or two, seemingly contemplating his existence. He then turned his attention to the girls, a smile on his face.

"But your girls are powerful enough on their own."

"How would you know?" Professor Utonium asked in surprise. "That's not true.. they fought valiantly against this villain, but still lost."

Brio simply shook his head and looked back up at the Professor.

"But that doesn't mean they don't have the power."

Brio looked back at his new sisters, smiling genuinely, his shining teal eyes moving slowly to each one, studying them carefully.

After a few moments he quickly walked up to Bubbles, who gasped and instinctively jumped back in surprise and fear. Brio stopped suddenly, his grin instantly fading, replaced by a look of pure and authentic surprise and disappointment.

"Don't be afraid." He said quietly.

Bubbles then slowly walked towards Brio, still trembling as tears filled her frightened eyes.

He suddenly grabbed her shoulder firmly, causing her to gasp and grow stiff.

But all of her fears melted away when he smiled at her again, and she smiled back as she looked into his gentle eyes.

"Bubbles, its nice to meet you." he said, "I can already tell.. your light is strong.." Bubbles stared at him, confused and speechless, until he finally released her shoulder and walked towards Blossom.

"Blossom, correct? Yes.. you too have a strong flame within as well, and yet different than Bubbles..." He said thoughtfully while shaking hands with Blossom.

"What do you mean, 'a strong flame?'" She asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"Within you, your inner power is great."

"What are you talking about? Inner power?" Buttercup asked impatiently.

Brio then walked towards Buttercup, leaving a thoroughly confused Blossom behind, and stuck out his hand to greet her.

"And you, you too have a great power... but its.. different.." He said to a now irritated Buttercup.

"You're crazy.. you're not making any sense."She said with a scowl.

Brio simply smiled.

"Your powers, that are still lying dormant.. I can sense them." He explained.

"What kind of powers?" Bubbles asked curiously, her voice more confident than before.

"Each of your hidden powers are unique and special," he said, still smiling.

"But how do we use these powers?" Professor Utonium asked.

"Your girls are quite capable of destroying this monster.. but they are nowhere near knowing how to use and control such power.

"So what are you proposing we do?" Professor Utonium asked impatiently.

"I propose that we all undertake this villain together, fight together."

"But that's suicide! My girls have already lost to this monster, we're lucky they survived! What makes you think they'll be able to discover these 'inner powers' in time?"

"They won't be able to. Nevertheless I still need their help. I can't defeat this villain by myself, I will need you girls to fight alongside me." He said, turning his attention back to the girls.

"Only I can help you awaken these powers, because I possess all of them myself... but ultimately, I will need you more than you need me."

Professor Utonium was quiet then, pondering this new idea.

"What do you mean.. 'you possess all of them'?" Blossom asked finally.

Brio smiled at her.

"It means I have each of your inner powers," he said, glancing at each girl. "Only in a smaller amount."

"What kind of power is it?"Blossom asked.

"Well, let me show you." He stood back a few feet and closed his eyes, concentrating on his power.

A faint white aura began to appear around his body, a vacuum of air encircled him, making his long, shaggy white hair whip around wildly.

Suddenly, the white aura exploded into an orange flame that engulfed him for only an instant. When the flame disappeared, the Brio before them was a changed being. His once silver-white hair was now literally flaming with an orange-red glow. When he opened his eyes again he revealed them to be a deep blood red, glistening with a yellow and orange shine. His entire body was now surrounded by an orange aura, and, with the transformation now complete, he began to walk towards a clearly astounded Blossom.

As he drew closer, she too began to glow orange, much to her surprise and shock.

"See, Blossom? This is your inner power.. The powers of flame... _Bruciare,_" Brio explained.

Blossom stared at her hands, astonished by their red-orange glow, and the power she felt surging inside.

"Bruciare.."she whispered. "..the power of flame..." Blossom looked up at Brio, wide-eyed, mouth hanging open.

Suddenly Brio's 'Bruciare' form disappeared just as quickly as it had come and Brio returned back to normal.

He smiled at Blossom and grabbed both her shoulders, looking in her eyes and chuckling at her surprised expression.

"Now, how 'bout we go kick some Quasi ass?"

* * *

Thanks for reading as always :)


	16. Chapter 15: Insurgere Interfector, Pervi...

Okay everyone:o) finally a new chapter is posted!..and to clear up any potentialquestions, the title means something like "To Rise Up Against the Killer, To Conquer a Great Power"lol but my translation could be off.

But anyways.. on with the fic!

Chapter 15: Insurgere Interfector, Pervincere Permagnus Pollentia

* * *

A shadowy figure stands in Hardly's old empty factory as the starless night falls again. He gasps and pants, clutching his side and cursing silently to himself. He stumbles across the room, but collapses to his knees weakly, growling and mumbling as he attempts to regain his strength.

A hot, blood red mist silently hisses as it appears without warning, and a tall, skinny silhouette comes into view. This new figure has large, claw-like hands and piercing evil green eyes. He glances down at Quasi, and smirks a little before speaking in a high-pitched, echoing trill.

"Something wrong, dear friend? You look a little.. down.."

Quasi whips his head around and looks at the visitor with wide eyes before snarling an angry response.

"Get out of here, Him."

"Well my, my.. that's no way to speak to your old partner!" Him's expression was that of mock surprise and fear.

"I don't need your help."

Him's face returned again to its menacing grin.

"Why, but Quasi, it looks as though it is quite the opposite! If anything you seem to need my help more than ever!"

"Get away from me, Him. It's nothing. I'm fine. Just the stupid antidote X."

Him begins to laugh in a deep, unearthly voice, before glaring evilly at Quasi.

"Ahh yes.. X powers always have a weakness.. I should've known you would have been beaten so easily." He said with a wide grin and a chuckle.

With that Quasi rose to his feet, a fierce anger burning inside of him at that comment. He suddenly throws both hands in front of him like slingshots, catching Him around the neck before he can even gasp. He then yanked his arms back again like a yo-yo, dragging Him across the floor until his astonished face is only inches from Quasi's.

"Don't you ever call me weak." Quasi said in a cold, deep voice that was dripping with fury.

Him's red face began to pale and his lungs began to ache as he tried to gasp for breath beneath Quasi's inhuman grip. Finally Quasi roughly let Him go, tossing him violently to the ground before turning around and walking deeper into the shadows of the factory.

Him just laid on the ground for a few moments, coughing and gasping for air and shaking uncontrollably. He looked up at Quasi and grumbled to himself, before weakly getting to his feet and following him cautiously.

"The girls have already been broken inside, Him. Their confidence has long been completely shattered, they're already emotionally dead. There's nothing more they can try to defeat me, all their powers have been exhausted. Had Professor Utonium not returned with chemical X, they would all already be dead."

Him listened in shock and even fear. He had not even the slightest idea of the extent of his new ally's power, and even the Evilest of Evil and Cruelest of Cruel was made speechless by Quasi's unreal strength.

"You.. You really did almost defeat them?" Him said in awe, "But nobody can defeat the Powerpuff Girls on their own!"

Quasi began to laugh in a sinister, mocking tone.

"Well apparently I can." He said simply, "I don't need your help, Him, I don't even know why I let you help me anyway."

Him grinned wickedly and walked towards Quasi.

"Because you take such joy in watching them suffer as well as I do, Quasi. We can stick together, as partners. Watch them crumble like stones beneath our fingers. It can still be great fun!" Him trilled, clasping his claws together gleefully.

"I'm through with fun," Quasi said, "I just want them dead, and I don't need your help to kill them."

"I can still help you, partner.. I can still haunt their minds with all the lives you've taken.. plague them with nightmares, make them hallucinate ...oh the possibilities! We must make them suffer while we can, partner, enjoy our moment of victory! " Him said, the confidence coming back in his sinister voice.

"No. There's no 'our' in this. Leave them to me now. I will destroy them myself." Quasi said simply.

Him growled deeply at this while transforming into his muscular state.

"You dare refuse the ultimate evil powers from Heck itself? Think of it, you could be even stronger! The greatest power in the universe, at your very fingertips... and you refuse it?" Him boomed.

Quasi just stood in silence, his back turned to his ex-partner in crime. He said then spoke in a quiet voice, seemingly ignoring Him's angry outburst.

"Get out of here. I don't need your power."

Him's eyes turned red with fury, and he suddenly unleashed a barrage of punches on Quasi's back.

"You don't NEED this power! You dare assume your power to be greater than I, the Ruler of Heck itself!" He roared while continuing to attack.

Quasi stumbled forward a few times, having been caught off guard by the sudden onslaught. He yelped in pain a few times, but soon he came back to his senses and his eyes burned with rage yet again. Quasi suddenly cried out and whirled around, catching both of Him's giant black claws in the air before they could land another hit.

"Leave. now." Quasi said simply while Him continued to struggle under Quasi's grip, but eventually gave up and returned back to his normal size.

When Quasi finally released him he nervously stepped backwards a few times, glaring spitefully at Quasi, before shouting a final message.

"Have it your way, fool, but don't come crying to me when I see you in Heck." He said before vanishing dramatically in a puff of red smoke.

Once Him was out of sight, Quasi began to laugh softly to himself as he thought of how he would one day kill Him to prove him, and the whole world, wrong. He had to prove to all that he WAS the most powerful being on earth, even more so than the Evilest of Evil and the Cruelest of Cruel.

But he had other things to do first.

As he felt his energy being restored, he began to laugh sinisterly as victory drew ever closer, and the Powerpuff Girls' final moments were upon him.

* * *

A young woman walked along the streets of the city of Townsville, grasping the hand of her 4-year-old daughter. She stopped for a moment to look up at the gathering black clouds in the sky hesitantly, before opening up her umbrella and continuing to walk.

She gasped as her child was suddenly roughly wrenched from her hand, and a mixture of screaming and maniacal laughter filled the damp, humid air. Quasi brought the child up close to his face, grinning and chuckling as the young girl wept, before throwing her aside and wrapping his tentacle-like arms around the mother's waist.

Quasi looked to one side, smirking a an astonished group of people waiting at a bus stop, before throwing the terrified woman full force into the crowd.

He walked forward into the street casually, as though the horror going on around him was just a game. A taxi slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting him as he stood in the middle of busy downtown traffic.

"Eh, get out of the road ya jerk! What are you doing!" The middle-aged taxi driver shouted impatiently.

Quasi turned his evil red-eyed gaze toward the scowling driver, before lashing his arm through the cab's windshield like a whip, sending shattering glass flying everywhere and wrapping tightly around the petrified driver's neck.

Quasi yanked the man from his car through the broken windshield suddenly, and then hurled the man upwards and then down through the roof of a nearby mini-van.

Three children sat quietly, bored looks on their faces, watching DVDs while their parents argued about where they were. The little children sat mesmerized by the TV, before screaming wildly in surprise when the cab driver's bruised and bleeding head came crashing through the roof of their car.

In the next instant the car was thrown from the road and through the window of a small store, causing the family inside the car and the shop's customers to scream and holler in surprise.

Quasi made quick work of destroying the rest of the surrounding area, causing mayhem and chaos wherever he went. People were left dead and injured, and citizens fled the city in large panicked crowds, trampling over those too weak to save themselves.

* * *

Brio, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were already on their way towards downtown, prepared for an epic battle. Each of the girls were nervous though, their confidence still shattered from Quasi's previous and near-fatal attack. Not to mention each of them were also riddled with questions about this 'new power' that Brio sensed deep inside them and was going on and on about, and if they would be able to reach it in time to defeat Quasi, if at all.

_I.. I wonder what my power is.._ Bubbles thought to herself while flying along and looking curiously at Brio._ And how does he know we even have these powers? _

_Do I really have a fire power inside me? ...how do I even know how to use it? _Blossom thought in wonder. _I already have ice and fire breath.. But this power that Brio showed me was different... stronger.. But how can I have such a great power?_

_I'm still skeptical of this new guy.. He seems nice, but ..so mysterious.. I ..I don't know if I can trust him, _Buttercup thought, _And how could I have some kind of hidden power? I'm already the toughest one.. And I still got beaten.. _

Sensing each of the girls' doubtful thoughts, Brio turned to them each and smiled.

"I know you all have great potential.. Someday we'll awaken each of your powers, and you'll be amazed at how mighty each of you can become!"

At this each of the girls smiled back at Brio, a new feeling of security and confidence washing over each of them.

"I'm going to help you do so when the time comes, but for now, we've got a fight to finish." Brio said as his voice became serious again.

* * *

Quasi snickered as he wrapped his long, bony fingers around the head of a tiny baby boy and pulled it straight from his mother's arms, as though it were a baseball. He reared it back and prepared to throw it across the street and into a building, against the begging and pleading of its horrified mother.

Quasi gasped when he suddenly felt the small baby wrenched from his hands and an invisible force rush into his gut, knocking the air out of him. The rush of air swirled around him and stopped a few feet away facing him. The force was revealed to be a ruff with spiky long-ish metallic white hair, teal eyes, and a white, Rowdyruff style shirt.

Quasi turned to his attacker and growled, scowling at this foolish new foe. Brio stood smirking at Quasi, before handing off the child to its mother and instructing her to run for safety.

"Just who do you think you are, foolish boy?" Quasi bellowed.

Brio turned to Quasi and glared, the smug look on his face disappearing and his eyes becoming very serious.

"We've come to stop you." Brio announced. "This madness ends right now."

"We?" Quasi looked behind him and saw the Powerpuff Girls standing in fighting stance, glaring and gritting their teeth at him.

Quasi then burst out laughing, causing the girls and Brio to clench their fists in rage.

"So the girls have returned for another thrashing, only this time they brought along Mr. Hero to save the day?" Quasi said in between snickers.

"Heh.. If you really think a new ruff will save you, you are sadly mistaken."Quasi smirked and then began to power up.

He began to emit a dark energy which encircled him, causing the young heros to gasp in horror. He then morphed into a being made of solid steel, right before their very eyes.

When the transformation was complete, Quasi grinned at the astonished looks on each of their faces as they gawked at Quasi's new invincible form.

"Just try to hurt me, your weak attacks can no longer harm me."Quasi chuckled at the angry looks on their faces. "But I'll quite enjoy watching you try."

Buttercup was the first to leap forward to attack. She slammed her fist into his chest, but shrieked in surprise when she found the metal to be too hard for even Powerpuff strength to break.

Blossom and Bubbles hurled themselves at Quasi as well, hoping that three puffs at once could overtake the powerful metal. But Blossom and Bubbles too recoiled when the force of their own punches was painfully bounced back through their hands and arms.

Quasi began laughing maniacally as each of the girls started attacking at once, only to howl in pain as their attacks made not even the slightest dent in Quasi's metal shell.

Finally Quasi had had enough fun watching the girls try to attack him, and suddenly he sprouted a third arm from the middle of his chest, grabbing all three girls and hurling them into a nearby building.

At that, Brio suddenly burst into flames, instantly becoming fueled by only his fire powers, otherwise known as Bruciare. He leapt in the air full force towards Quasi, his eyes blood red and his shaggy hair and ponytail flaming.

In the instant it took to be upon the astounded Quasi, Brio had quickly formed a red hot flame in his right hand. He hit Quasi with a powerful punch in the jaw, causing him to cry out as the metal instantly melted beneath the scalding temperature.

Brio planted a kick in Quasi's face, using it for stability and pushing off high up in the air, flipping around a few times before landing on the ground a few feet away.

Both Brio and Quasi quickly return back to their normal state, staring each other down with icy glares.

"Heh.. Not bad. Lets see what else you can do," Quasi stood up straight, lowering his arms to his sides, "I'll give you a free shot. Lets see what you're made of."

Brio's eyes still remained serious and determined as he placed his hand solemnly over his heart.

"You are definitely going to regret that."

* * *


	17. Chapter 16: Deadlock

Hello again everyone! I've spent forever on this chapter, since I'm still new at fight scenes :P ...So sorry for the wait.. but here it is!

Chapter 16: Deadlock

* * *

Brio knelt down to one knee, eyes closed in meditation with one hand still over his heart and another less than and inch above the ground. 

The girls were just coming out of their daze after being smashed into a building nearby when a soft rumble could be felt from where Brio was standing. The girls silently rose to their feet and crept closer to where the fight was taking place, watching curiously to see what Brio was doing.

Without a word, Brio barely touched the street, causing even more powerful pulsating shockwaves to echo throughout the city. This powerful pulsing energy was flowing from the core of Brio's heart, through his arm and deep into the road, causing an artificial earthquake to erupt, and making Quasi stumble around in surprise.

He then lifted his hand from the ground, and raised his gaze to the astonished Quasi. He stood straight-faced, his hand still placed firmly on his chest, before suddenly smirking and running with lightening speed at Quasi.

Brio appeared right in front of Quasi's face, immediately placing his other hand only inches from Quasi's chest.

"Cardio Pulse Wave!" Brio shouted as he suddenly pushed an incredible invisible force from his very heart, down his arm, and out his hand.

Quasi screamed and hollered as he was suddenly riddled with uncontrollable shaking and shivering. He felt his inner core being torn apart as the throbbing flow of energy coursed through his vibrating limbs. The scene went on for only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity to Quasi's tortured body.

Brio finally pulled his hand back, glaring coldly at Quasi while he fell to his knees, still shaking from the after effects of the wave. High above them gray clouds were gathering in the late afternoon sky, creating an artificial night with its overcast shadows.

After a few moments Quasi suddenly rose to his feet again, growling and looking down at Brio with fierce eyes. He still twitched and quivered slightly, but that didn't hinder the evil grin that soon spread across his face.

Brio gasped and his eyes widened, but his expression quickly returned to that of steadfast determination and rage. He then grinned as a plan came to mind. He looked towards the girls and caught their gaze, and they nodded back to him as they took their positions.

"Not b-bad, boy," Quasi said with a smirk, his voice still shivering, "n-not bad at all."

"What, you think I'm done?" Brio said with a laugh, causing Quasi to stare at Brio in bewilderment.

Suddenly Quasi was hit at close range in the back by Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup's Starburst ray, knocking him forward towards Brio's waiting fist. Brio grabbed the dazed and confused Quasi around the neck with one hand, and landed several hard punches into his stomach with the other. Brio then swung his foot around and into Quasi's side, knocking him across the street to where Blossom was waiting, ready to attack.

Blossom landed a powerful punch to Quasi's jaw before roughly grabbing his neck and beginning to swing him around in circles like a rag doll. She swung him around a few times before letting him back across the street and towards Bubbles' awaiting assault.

Bubbles sat poised on the wall of a nearby building, and when she saw Quasi flying in her direction, she pushed off with great force directly at her helpless foe. Once she gained enough momentum, she slammed into Quasi's stomach with both feet causing him to cry out in pain. She then grabbed his arm over her shoulder and threw him violently to the ground on his back, where Buttercup would deliver the finishing blow of this four-sided barrage.

Buttercup had taken her position thousands of feet above the Townsville skyline, and readied herself for the final attack. When she heard Quasi cry out in pain from Bubbles' kick, she knew that was her cue to begin her lightning-fast descent towards earth, and more specifically, Quasi. As her velocity increased she could feel the world blurring around her and hear an unmistakable sonic boom. She squinted her eyes in determination, and let out a powerful war-cry as she rapidly approached Quasi's fallen form.

A deafening explosion sounded as Buttercup slammed full-force into Quasi, creating a huge crater in the street with the impact. As the smoke cleared, Blossom, Bubbles, and Brio watched in suspense for any sign of movement within the newly formed crater.

Suddenly the unmistakable sound of Buttercup's voice as she screamed in surprise was heard, and her teammates cringed as her screams turned into cries of pain that echoed throughout the depths of the crater. Buttercup's hollering was soon followed by an enormous ray of red energy that blasted out of the crater only seconds later, narrowly missing Buttercup as she shot up out of the crater and collapsed nearby.

All four heros looked on in horror as Quasi's seemingly unharmed form came into view. As he approached the young fighters, his eyes glowed a bright red, glaring furiously as he slowly formed another ball of red energy in his hand.

"Foolish children," he said simply, "you can't even begin to comprehend my power."

Brio was the first to raise up his fists in defense and glare back at this monstrosity.

"You're going to pay for everyone you've hurt! Everyone you've killed!" he shouted, "We're going to stop you, at all costs!"

Brio jumped at Quasi, fist back and yelling in fury. Before he had time to think, Quasi had promptly fired a blast of red energy into Brio's stomach, pushing him backwards suddenly. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup gasped as Brio flew back in pain, but in no time he had regained his composure skidded to a stop.

He raised his gaze to Quasi again, his eyes glittering with a deep burning rage. Quasi sneered and laughed at Brio's glare.

"What are you going to do to me?" Quasi snickered, "you can't hurt me."

Brio stood up slowly, glaring intensely at Quasi. They remained motionless for a few moments, staring each other down with angry glares.

After a while Brio's furious demeanor melted away and he smirked and began to stretch out his arms and run in place. The girls watched in awe as Brio gathered his strength once again for another round, even when the situation seemed so futile. Even Quasi was made speechless as he watched in bewilderment as Brio prepared for the next attack without hesitation.

"Well I'm not trying to hurt you." Brio finally said in a voice full of excitement and enthusiasm, as though this was all a game. "I'm trying to kill you."

Before Quasi could speak again, Brio's form began to glow white and his eyes lost all their color. Blinding rays of white light leaked from the tips of his hair and through his very skin and his eyes had become nothing more than glowing sockets of white light.

Quasi's mouth dropped open as he gazed at the glowing boy before him, disbelieving of the great power he was feeling. Brio began to slowly advance on Quasi, smirking at the villain's dumbfounded reaction.

"My power, is the very power of life itself." Brio said in a powerful voice that made even Quasi step back in fear. "Brio,.. it means life.. Life will always conquer death."

Quasi shook himself out of his stupor and scowled at Brio.

"Heh.. Just try it, _Brio_." he grinned, emphasizing each letter in Brio's name in a mocking tone, " I have conquered death itself as well, the Evilest of Evil himself. The powers of Heck, the entire world, will tremble under my command."

"Not unless we stop you first."

Brio then puffed out his chest and held his head up high, extending his arms outward and bending his knees in preparation for an attack.

"Adrenaline Rush!" Brio shouted while simultaneously exploding in a burst of blinding white energy.

Quasi's eyes grew wide as he was suddenly slammed in the jaw by a superhuman force that knocked him backwards in a daze.

Brio rushed at him again and again with lightning fast speed and agility, inhuman strength and accuracy. In a powerful rush of adrenaline Brio made quick work of bringing Quasi to his knees, blow after blow, each with the intensity and force that could nearly match that of a god.

Brio then brought his fist back and punched Quasi hard across the face, hard enough to knock some of the chemical X loose from Quasi's body, causing Quasi to wail in pain. Brio again threw a powerful left hard into Quasi's injured face, causing him to screech in a ghostly voice.

Just as Brio was bringing his hand down again for another blow, Quasi reached up and grabbed it, holding it in place. Once Brio had been shaken out of his powerful barrage, the white glow that was surrounding him instantly faded, and he returned to normal again.

Using all of his strength, Quasi managed to push back Brio's fist, causing Brio's feet to begin to dig into the concrete ground. As Brio's strength was weakening, Quasi could feel himself gaining the upper hand.

In one swift motion Quasi hurled Brio across the street until Brio slowed to a stop. Brio fell to his knees, weakened by his Adrenaline Rush. Bubbles and Blossom rushed to his aid, with Buttercup not far behind in spite of her pain.

Quasi had fallen to his knees out of breath, for the previous attack had left him still dazed and breathless. He rose to his feet again on shaky legs, and stared at the girls as they helped Brio once again to his feet.

The dark clouds from before had become an ominous black, and freezing rain began to steadily pour on the battlefield. All was silent until a large clap of thunder and blinding flash of lightning echoed and illuminated the deserted streets, creating eerie shadows of the five fighters.

Quasi narrowed his eyes in pure rage and began to growl softly under his breath as the rain trickled down his face and body in liquid veins. He clenched his fists and grit his sharp teeth, feeling a deep rage burning up inside him despite the frigid rain around him.

Quasi's eyes suddenly opened wide and he beared his gleaming sharp teeth in rage. He threw his head back and let out an earth-shattering primal roar as he exploded yet again with more red energy. His muscles were throbbing and pulsing and he roared uncontrollably as such phenomenal power flowed through his limbs.

Bubbles scowled and turned from Brio towards Quasi. She suddenly leapt forward in an attempt to attack him while he was distracted, only to be thrown to the ground by the sheer force of Quasi's energy that encircled him.

Brio closed his eyes as he tried to calm his nerves and think of a plan.

_It all seems so hopeless... all of our attacks have barely put a dent in his power.. He's not even close to slowing down... _Brio grasped his hands together as he thought furiously, grimacing in pain and the hopeless feeling building up inside his stomach.

_There may be a way... but.. it's so risky.. the girls aren't even close to being ready... _Brio's eyes opened wide in serious determination, and he stood up again, glaring fiercely at Quasi, _but we have to try... this is the only hope we have left..._

Without another thought he immediately grabbed the girls' hands and ran a few feet away from where Quasi was rapidly growing stronger.

Brio then gave them very specific instructions.

"Girls.. There may be a way to d-defeat Quasi... Please, listen carefully.." his voice was rushed and shaking, a mixture of the freezing cold rain around them and anxious fear, a startling change from his usual upbeat, confident attitude.

"..I want all of us to stand in a circle and hold each other's hands as tightly as we can," Brio explained quickly, as they formed a circle, "..w-we haven't much time.."

"Brio? ..What are we doing?" Blossom inquired.

Brio seemed to ignore Blossom's question as he continued breathlessly.

"Now, remember those hidden powers I told you about? I want each of you to meditate, relax your mind and reach deep inside yourself and seek out these powers... Awaken them if you can, if only for an instant. I'll help you, by lending you some of my power as well.. All of our powers are linked together.. so my power should help unlock your own.." Brio said as he began to glow white, "Hurry! Our time is running short!"

With that they stood in silence, searching deep within the depths of their souls to unearth the hidden powers that could defeat Quasi for good.

As Brio's silvery-white glow grew more intense, one could barely hear him chanting softly to himself, an incantation which would further help the girls unlock their concealed powers.

"_...Dissonance of Darkness... Chorus of Fire... Harmony of Light..._"Brio spoke in a whisper, his voice in rhythm with each of their steadily growing powers. As if on cue, with each whispered phrase, Buttercup, Blossom, and finally Bubbles, also began to glow with a faint aura corresponding to their own respective powers.

They stood solemnly in the shape of a simple circle, each of the four arcs glowing with its respective color: in the front the silvery-white gleam of Brio, in the back, a fiery red-orange glow of Blossom, on the left, the shining golden rays of Bubbles, and finally on the right, the dark black shadows of Buttercup.

As the colors grew more intense, so did Quasi's evil red glow. Quasi cried out in satisfaction once his power was maxed out. He smirked sinisterly and advanced on the four heros who were desperately gathering their secret energies together for an attack. None of the heros could see or sense Quasi coming, because they were concentrated so fully on powering up. Finding this to be the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack, Quasi brought his arm back behind him and began to silently morph it while gathering his energy to attack.

Quasi then leapt high up into the air, his eyes glowing red with vengeance and bloodlust as he set his sights on the heros, arm reared back and ready to attack.

Just as the four fighters had almost reached the climax of their inner power, a powerful force suddenly knocked them out of each other's grasp. Each fighter was violently thrown back a few feet away by a black figure which moved ever so silently and quickly.

Bubbles groaned as she sat up weakly and shook her head a few times to clear her mind. She gasped when she noticed a deep gash down her arm, which was beginning to slowly drip with dark red blood. Tears of pain filled her eyes, but nevertheless she still stood up slowly, gathering her strength and looking for her teammates.

She noticed Buttercup fallen on her knees a few feet away, grimacing and holding her shoulder in pain. Buttercup, too, rose to her feet again, despite her pain, and prepared to gather her energy again.

Brio stood up with nothing more than a small cut on his cheek, looking at both Bubbles and Buttercup as they continued gathering their inner power. However, in vain.

Unfortunately, the last piece of the crucial puzzle was not so lucky as the other three.

All eyes soon searched for Blossom, who had been the target of Quasi's surprise attack. A simultaneous gasp was uttered into the freezing, drizzling air as they each slowly turned to look in horror at their fallen sister.

Quasi was standing over Blossom several feet away, his arm having morphed into a long, sharp, metallic point, the tip of it now drenched in blood.

* * *

Thankies for readin'! (more cliffhangers mwahaha!) 

(A/N: I'm gonna be gone on a mission trip for 10 days starting Friday, so it'll be a while til my next epdate, sorry..)


	18. Chapter 17: Breath of Life

A/N: Heyo! NeoLarry here posting for Fluff since her computer is being evil. Hm...now that I have access to her account I can do all sorts of evil things...MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA cough cough Sorry lol. - luv ya Hailey. Hope y'all enjoy the chapter it's a g'dun.

Chapter 17: Breath of Life

* * *

_Blossom found herself engulfed in warm darkness, cool air rushing past her face as she felt herself flying aimlessly through an empty black tunnel deep inside her mind. She opened her heavy eyes to see nothing. Nothing but black, empty void. She had no past and no future, no idea from where she had come or where she was going. _

_All she knew was the feeling of air rushing past her face and blowing back her hair as an unknown force took control over her body, leading it down this empty tunnel of darkness. _

_She began to panic as her speed began to rapidly increase, faster than she had ever flown before, and she couldn't stop herself. She felt herself going faster and faster, and her mind became blurred and clouded as she became more and more dizzy. Her panic soon turned to excitement as adrenaline rushed through her body and she began to enjoy the impossible thrill of this phenomenal speed. _

_Suddenly everything stopped. _

_Blossom was halted by an invisible force that slammed into her chest, grabbing her entire body from the neck down and stopping her cold. She opened her mouth wide in surprise as she felt the powerful impact on her body, but couldn't even utter a gasp as she was instantly frozen in space. _

_She now seemed to be moving in slow motion as she leaned forward ever so slightly from the momentum after the impact, and then her eyes, too, opened wide and then froze in the black abyss. She could feel her very soul, her life, her spirit, seeming to leak through her frozen open mouth, while the invisible shield seemed to hold her body back._

_It was as though she had been on a roller coaster going at impossible speeds, and at the end she was suddenly halted, and something was grabbing onto her body and holding her back... only the rest of her, her spirit and soul, kept on going. _

"_So... this is what death feels like..." Blossom thought as floated through the endless nothingness. "Everything just... stops."_

_Blossom's eyes began to slowly close inside her consciousness, completely succumbing to the darkness of death. _

"_But... where's the light..? The light at the end of the tunnel..? Is this all? Is this.." _

_Before she could finish her thought her mind, too, was frozen in time. Only a tiny thread was left that tied her consciousness to reality, and it was unwinding at an inconceivable rate.

* * *

_

"BLOSSOM!" Bubbles and Buttercup screamed in unison, while Brio fell to his knees in shock.

The two worried girls rushed to their fallen sister's side, horrified by Quasi's simple but destructive blow.

Blossom lay helplessly on the ground, eyes screwed shut, her orange hair slowly becoming smeared red with the blood that was steadily flowing from the open wound in her stomach. Her chest heaved up and down slowly as her breathing became more of a chore each second and her heart fluttered weakly inside her chest.

Bubbles fell to her knees in shock, gaping and shaking in fear, her typically bright blue eyes now covered in a cloudy gray haze of sadness. Her dirty blonde pigtails drooped under the weight of the deluge of rain, and her cut and bruised body was soaked to the bone. She cried silently, her tears mixing with the rain that poured mercilessly upon her face, until her cries grew into loud wails and ghostly sobs, sobs that could be heard even above the deafening thunder.

Buttercup watched Bubbles in a daze, unaware of what had just happened. She turned her attention to Blossom again, half-expecting her to jump up and fight, only to realize that her breathing had slowed incredibly, and her skin had was slowly turning dangerously pale.

Buttercup's breathing quickened, her eyes grew wide as her vision blurred with tears. She trembled under the cold of the rain and the image before her while taking a hesitant step backwards, clenching her fists in rage and closing her eyes to keep the tears from leaking out.

She stood in silence for a few moments, letting the icy rain pour even harder upon her bruised and beaten body, before opening her eyes again, revealing them to have an even darker green shadow to them. She turned her furious gaze towards Quasi, who was standing nearby, smirking at his handiwork.

"You.."She growled under her breath while scowling at Quasi, "I'm going to kill you."

"You?" Quasi laughed, "You're going to kill me?"

He snickered and advanced on Buttercup.

"You couldn't come close even with four of you.. And now there are only three." He sneered, "I've taken out your leader, you're powerless now."

"No, we're not." Buttercup and Quasi turned in surprise towards Bubbles as she spoke and rose to her feet. "We are a team, and a team depends on each other, not just the leader."

Quasi's smile faded at one look into both Bubbles and Buttercup's eyes. Bubbles eyes, too, had a slight change to them - a faint yellow glow. Quasi shook his head and grinned again, convinced he still had nothing to worry about.

"Team or not I'm still going to kill you each one by one," he grinned, "But who goes first, hmmm?"

He grinned and scratched his chin in mock thought, while Bubbles began to glow with a light yellow aura and her blue eyes had turned almost completely yellow.

"You first," She said suddenly while leaping into the air and slamming her knee into Quasi's stomach with astonishing force and accuracy.

Buttercup snarled and rocketed off the ground, punching Quasi hard in the jaw, hard enough for him to cry out in pain and agony. Buttercup twirled around in midair and proceeded to pound Quasi's face repeatedly with her feet while Bubbles hammered his stomach with several powerful punches.

Quasi stumbled backwards in surprise, coughing and sputtering. He fell to his knees, breathing heavily, and looked up with wide-eyes at the girls. Buttercup was now surrounded by a more distinguishable shadow-like aura, while Bubbles was glowing like the sun.

_What's going on?_ He thought, _How did they suddenly become so strong?_

Without wasting another second, Buttercup flew at him and struck Quasi hard in the chest with a powerful head butt. He went flying across the street and into the side of a building, where he then fell to the ground, barely conscious.

Buttercup and Bubbles advanced slowly on Quasi, their quiet, empty expressions contrasting the savage bloodlust in their eyes. Quasi raised his gaze to them, shaking his head repeatedly to clear his mind, and rose to his feet again, trembling slightly.

His fear soon turned to excitement as a plan came to mind. He grinned evilly at Bubbles and Buttercup, watching as they foolishly prepared to attack again.

"If I were you I'd be having nothing to grin about," Buttercup spat, "It looks like you're gettin' your ass kicked pretty good from my side of things."

"Well I did underestimate you now, it seems," Quasi said with a smirk and a chuckle, "You have proven to be somewhat of a challenge."

Quasi brought his arms back and clenched his hands into fists, "Try again, lets see what you can do this time."

Bubbles scowled and ran towards Quasi, fist back, prepared to strike. She leapt in the air at the last second, however, flipping around a few times before descending towards Quasi with a powerful kick. Quasi didn't move or even flinch. He looked up at Bubbles and smiled, before instantly morphing into the exact likeness of Blossom.

Bubbles gasped and darted to one side just before hitting Quasi. She landed nearby next to Buttercup, eyes wide in shock.

"Come on, Bubbles.." Quasi said in Blossom's voice, his red-pink eyes gleaming, "Lets see what you've got."

Bubbles just stared in surprise at Quasi Blossom. Buttercup turned to Bubbles angrily.

"What were you thinking? You had a clear shot!" Buttercup complained. "Lets get him!"

"I.. I.. I can't hit him like that Buttercup.. It's Blossom.. " Bubbles stuttered as she backed away hesitantly.

Buttercup turned to Bubbles and roughly grabbed her by the collar of her dress, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"That's NOT Blossom! Don't let him trick us into giving up!" Buttercup yelled in annoyance, "We've come this far, Bubbles, are you just gonna give up now!"

"N-n-no, but.." Bubbles squeaked, shaking in fear, "how can I hit him, when he looks like Blossom?"

"Look into his eyes, Bubbles, and you'll know that it's not Blossom." Buttercup grasped Bubbles' collar tighter and shook her gently but firmly.

After a few moments she released her and turned her gaze towards Quasi Blossom. She glared fiercely at him, bringing her fists back.

"If anything this dumb trick makes me WANT to hit him more," She snarled, causing Bubbles and Quasi Blossom to utter a small gasp in surprise, "He's just mocking us Bubbles, mocking Blossom. I'm not going to let him get away with mocking the Powerpuffs."

She leapt at Quasi Blossom and landed several punches to his face. Quasi Blossom jumped at Buttercup but was easily dodged, giving Buttercup the chance to grab a handful of Quasi Blossom's hair and yank him back. Buttercup smashed Quasi Blossom into the street several times by his long orange hair before swinging him around and finally letting him go across the street and into a parked car.

Buttercup then turned to Bubbles, calling out to her again.

"Come on Bubbles!" she shouted, "Get him! Now!"

Bubbles hesitated for a moment, but then remembered what Buttercup said. She looked towards Quasi Blossom as he slowly stood up and stepped over the wreckage. Bubbles looked deep into his eyes, and saw the evil red gleam that told her instantly that it couldn't be Blossom. She closed her eyes and began telling herself the same thing again and again in a soft whisper.

"It's not real, it's just fake.. it's not real, it's just fake.." Bubbles repeated quietly a few times before opening her eyes again and glaring at Quasi Blossom.

She ran towards him and pounded her fist into his face, so hard and so fast that it knocked some of Quasi Blossom's teeth out. Bubbles hit him again and again, screaming in rage and attacking with uncontrollable power.

Buttercup soon joined Bubbles in the onslaught, pounding him harder and harder as their power and fury increased.

"Don't you see Quasi?" Buttercup said in between punches, "We've conquered all your stupid shape shifting tricks. You can't trick us anymore."

In one final blow from Bubbles, Quasi Blossom was knocked out of his disguise, and he immediately morphed back to normal.

He quickly took a few steps back, his battered body giving way to weakness and pain. He just stood there, coughing and gasping, waiting for the next attack.

Buttercup looked at Bubbles and signaled for her to go first, and Bubbles nodded and stepped forward.

Bubbles stretched her arms out in front of her to create her part of the Starburst ray, but what happened instead surprised and startled her. Instead of glowing blue, Bubbles' hands began to glow a bright golden yellow. Before she could stop it, the blast exploded towards Quasi, spreading all over the area in one blinding yellow flash. The blast lasted for only an instant, but it had hit Quasi directly in the eyes, blinding him for several minutes.

"What on earth was that?" Buttercup asked in surprise.

"I don't know! I've never done THAT before!" Bubbles explained.

"Well whatever it is, do it again!" Buttercup said as she began to power up, "Maybe I can do it too!"

Meanwhile, Brio was still in a deep state of shock, fallen to his knees and oblivious to the world around him. The rain had poured unforgivingly upon his silver-colored hair, washing away his hair tie and causing it to spread messily over his shoulders.

His glassy eyes watched the ground intently, but nothing in particular. His power being fueled by the life of the others around him, when in the presence of death itself he is weakened and stopped in his tracks when one of his teammates is hurt or killed. The mere feeling of death hung in the air around him, froze him in time and space, and rendered him completely helpless for a few moments.

Bubbles' blast snapped him back to reality, and he jerked his gaze quickly to where Quasi was still stumbling around in a daze, and noticed Bubbles and Buttercup gathering their energy for another attack.

They were each glowing even more brilliantly now, Bubbles' aura resembling the bright yellow light of the sun, while Buttercup's image was darkened by black shadows.

Brio gasped and his eyes widened.

_W-wait.. Bubbles and Buttercup are still in touch with their inner powers.. _Brio thought to himself _...But.. That's impossible without all of us being alive.. ...that means.. that.. _

He looked over to Blossom who was still lying motionless, save for her slowed breathing, on the wet street in a pool of her own blood.

_Blossom.. She must still be alive! _

Just as he thought that, he gasped and watched in horror as Blossom laid completely still for several long moments, but let out a sigh of relief as he watched her inhale again.

_She may not be alive for long though.. ..but I can still help her._

He jumped to his feet and rushed towards Blossom, only freezing in mid-step as common sense took over.

_But if I use this now, it will completely drain my power.. And the girls need me to help them destroy Quasi... _

He looked back and forth between Blossom and the girls, debating the crucial decision.

_If Quasi isn't stopped now, he'll just keep killing. I have to help them._

He began to head towards where Bubbles and Buttercup were, but something held him back for only a moment. He looked back to Blossom again, watching a trickle of blood start to pour from her mouthas her breathing turned to short gasps. He reached out to her in concern, but drew back in an instant, closed his eyes sadly and clenched his fists in rage.

_Hang in there Blossom.. I'll help you as soon as I can.. _

Brio turned to where the fight was taking place, determination and fury in his eyes, and began running towards his sisters.

As he ran he began to glow white as he poweredup for the attack. The girls turned towards him and nodded, before looking back towards Quasi and glowing even brighter than before.

As the sheer force of the energies surrounding the three of them grew, the air began to rush around them in a whirlwind of power, even picking up some of the debris caused from the fight, rushing again and again with more speed and intensity into a swirling vortex of energy.

By now Quasi had long since regained his composure and was already steadying himself against the force of the three energies as they combined for an attack. Noticing this, Brio shouted to the girls over the howling winds, the thunder and the torrential rain.

"We can'twait untilwe've reached our full power!" He strained his voice to be heard over all the noise and chaos around them, "We have to attackwhile we still can!"

Quasiwalked slowly towards the three heros, each step a chore when facing against these powerful, turbulent winds. He brought his arms up to shield his eyes against the ever-growing radiance of these powers put together as one.

_Once he's close enough... _Brio's eyes narrowed as he watched Quasi's movements intently and gathered the white energy in his hands, with Bubbles and Buttercup following soon after _...just a little closer.. _

"NOW!"Brio shouted at the top of his lungs, as he stretched his hands out in front of him and fired an enormous blast of pure white energy simultaneously with Bubbles and Buttercup. Buttercup's dark blast made up the core of the attack, and it was soon surrounded by Bubbles' and Brio's attack. Bubbles' wave blended automatically with Brio's creating the powerful outer shell of the beam, moving at lightening speed towards Quasi.

Quasi's bright red eyes widened, for this blast was far too big to dodge. The beam slammed into Quasi's body, pushing him backwards down the street. He spread his arms out wide and grasped the wave, pushing forward with all his might while roaring in fury. He dug his feet deep into the pavement, trying to skid to a stop, but instead kicking up more concrete and debris without slowing a bit.

"PUSH! MORE POWER!" Brio cried in between shuddering gasps, "KEEP GOING!"

Buttercup growled and roared loudly, opening her eyes and revealing them to be nothing more than pools of black ink. She pushed more dark energy into her blast, as the images of Mr. Cole, the little girl, those people in the bank, all of the lives that were taken at the hands of Quasi.. each flashed through her mind in only an instant. She began to cry uncontrollably as she poured all her energy into this one single attack, moved only by the deep sadness that was living inside her.

Bubbles screamed in rage as she pushed more pulsing energy from deep inside into her blast. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead and her entire body shook and shuddered from the incredible energy flowing from it. The image of Blossom's fallen, bloody, form flashed in Bubbles' mind, and she let her rage completely control her as she put her entire being into the power of that blast.

_Blossom's eyes opened again in the darkness of her mind, but she found her body to still be frozen in time and space. She looked up above her, and saw a faint white light glowing far away in the darkness. _

"_W-What's that?" she thought._

Brio cried out in a mixture of pain and rage as he, too, pushed every fiber of his being into this one attack. As he did so, the blinding light grew even stronger, and he felt Quasi's resistance weakening.

Quasi skidded farther backwards, weakening with every second against this cataclysmic attack. He roared and brought his arms in front of him, determined to push back the wave.

"NO ONE CAN STOP ME!" Quasi bellowed.

_Blossom watched helplessly as the light grew ever brighter, but still nothing else was visible within this black abyss. _

"_So this is the end I guess.." Blossom thought emotionlessly._

_But then she began to hear faraway noises and some faint voices..._

Brio closed his eyes and fell to one knee, not sure how much longer he could take this. His entire body trembled under the strength of his own blast, and he was close to releasing the beam out of exhaustion.

_No.. I can't give up on Blossom.. _He thought to himself before rising to his feet again and slowly pushing forward, soon followed by Bubbles and Buttercup.

_Blossom felt the warmth of the light on her cold skin as it drew ever closer to her. She watched in a daze as the light shone down upon her, glittering and sparkling with inconceivable beauty. She felt her eyelids get heavy beneath the warm light, but was shaken from her daze again by more faraway noises and voices. _

What happened next lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like everything was going in slow motion.

Quasi screeched in pain as he was driven back yet again. All of his energy had left him, and he dropped his arms to his sides in pure exhaustion. He hollered and cried out in a ghostly voice, screaming in pain as his body began to slowly break apart back into its original ingredients. Tearing, ripping, slashing, splitting... his screams could be heard from miles around, echoing throughout the streets of the city and hanging in the frigid air. His body was finally consumed by the deadly beam. He uttered a final scream to the heavens before his body was completely destroyed, leaving him to be nothing more than useless chemicals.

The bright beam immediately fizzled and disappeared as the heros fell to their knees in exhaustion. Their powers faded away and they returned to their normal state yet again.

Bubbles looked at her smoking hands in awe, and then looked in surprise at the cut on her arm which had split open, and was slowing oozing with blood.

_Wow.. I completely forgot about this cut, I was concentrating so much on the attack.. _Bubbles thought to herself in wonder.

Buttercup fell backwards and laid on her back, wincing in pain from the wound on her shoulder, but soon relaxing on the ground, breathing heavily but with a sigh of contentment. She even let a smile spread across her face as she stretched her arms out and put them under her head like a pillow. She stared up at the deep blue night sky, before gasping in surprise and excitement.

"Hey guys! It's not raining anymore!" She squealed enthusiastically, but the others were too tired to hear her.

As she smiled to herself over Quasi's defeat, she soon began to think of the sister that they lost, and still couldn't shake the guilt of losing her, even after destroying her killer. Buttercup looked to Blossom, feeling the tears building up behind her eyelids and quickly wiping them away. Sensing Buttercup's thoughts, Bubbles, too, looked over towards where Blossom was lying and sighed to herself. At the sight, Buttercup's ever-present grin of victory soon faded into a faraway, sorrowful expression.

"We haven't lost her,"Brio said simply, shaking the girls out of their thoughts. "There's still a way."

Brio walked briskly towards Blossom, followed closely by a curious Bubbles and Buttercup, and knelt over her and took her head in his hands.

"Hang on Blossom, we're here for you..." He torn off the rest of his already torn sleeve and carefully wrapped it around Blossom's open wound. "I don't have enough energy to completely restore you to life.. but I'll give you what I have, and we'll let God do the rest."

Brio looked towards the sky and said a silent prayer to himself before looking back towards Blossom. He then placed his hands firmly on her forehead and began to slowly breathe in and out, closing his eyes in meditation.

"Breath of Life.." Brio whispered, while beginning to glow with a very faint white aura. The small bit of white energy flowed from Brio's hands and into Blossom's body, giving her just that spark of life that she needed.

Buttercup and Bubbles held each other close and watched hopefully as Brio's aura finally faded into Blossom's body. His last ounce of energy leaving him, Brio wobbled a bit and fell unconscious next to Blossom, who was beginning to breathe more regularly again.

_Without warning, the bright white light exploded across the black abyss, creeping slowly around her in an attempt to completely consume Blossom and detach her completely from reality. But she didn't welcome the light.. she shrunk back from it. _

_She heard a strong, echoing voice deep inside her mind, a voice that couldn't be determined if it were man or woman, child or adult. _

"_No.. It is not her time yet." As the voice spoke the light froze in time, controlled completely by this unknown power. _

"_Go back to earth Blossom, the world needs you." Just as the words were spoken, the blinding light shrunk back from where it came, and the black abyss returned to normal._

_Blossom couldn't think about what had just happened, for her mind, body, and soul was exhausted. She simply closed her eyes in her dream and fell into a deep, thoughtless slumber._

Without a word, Bubbles lifted Brio in her arms and took off towards home. Buttercup walked over towards Blossom and carefully lifted her into her arms, took one last look towards the black and white puddle that remained where Quasi had once been standing, and then glanced back at Blossom's unconscious face with a little smile.

"We did it, sis, just like you said we could," she whispered before taking off after Bubbles into the clear, late night sky.

* * *

Thanks for reading and for those of you who just skimmed GO BACK AND READ IT! lol just playin', hope you liked it! 


	19. Epilogue: Storm

Well finally got the epilogue finished..its kinda short andsorry for the wait...

but anyways.. Enjoy!

Epilogue: Storm

* * *

The rolling black clouds of the raging storm soared slowly along the horizon, revealing a moonlit, late night sky which illuminates the city of Townsville. Some buildings had been already reduced to rubble, but many still stood tall, a lasting reminder of the perseverance of good against evil.

A startling silence had overtaken the deserted city once the storm had passed and the fight had ceased, a silence that still frightened the onlookers who soon began to emerge. They slowly crept from their hiding places, a mixture of anxiety and excitement on their tired, worn faces. The injured were now safe to make their way to the hospitals, while, unfortunately, a few had already passed away sometime during the course of this epic, dangerous battle.

In only a few minutes, the world seemed to begin turning again, as people cautiously returned to their homes and things began running like normal. In no time, a Townsville News van soon came speeding down the road towards the battle site, cameras in hand to capture this unforgettable event.

People were reunited after hours in a standstill, waiting and wondering who was alive and who was dead. Some returned to their homes in a stunned awe, grateful for their luck to have survived such an evil, while others mourned the loss of loved ones, frozen in a hopeless sadness.

In time nearly all of Townsville was tucked away in a dreamless sleep, exhausted from the whole ordeal but thankful to once again be in their warm beds.

* * *

However, in one lonely, hollow, dark home, one citizen was far from asleep, pacing back and force with a steady, tapping rhythm. He sighed and scratched his head, yawning, stretching and picking up the remote control. He flipped on the nearby television and surfed through the channels impatiently, searching for some kind of news regarding the recent battle.

He stopped when he reached a channel where a frantic news reporter was on site, nearly screaming into the microphone in excitement. He collapsed in a recliner nearby, listening intently to the woman's words.

"Rescue crews are already on the battle site tonight, cleaning up the debris and searching for more casualties due to Quasi's rampage. The death toll as of now exceeds one hundred and fifty, and the number of injured cannot even be measured as it is continuously rising by the second." The woman spoke in hurried breaths, her blue eyes wide with excitement and her windblown blonde hair sticking out in all directions.

The shadow's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open in shock, before turning into a tiny smirk that gleamed in the darkness.

"Here we can see where the horrific monstrosity known as Quasi has truly shown his great strength as he has clearly reduced these buildings to rubble. Many cars and other vehicles have also been completely destroyed by unimaginable beast. Work crews are already estimating the damage costs will surpass one hundred million."

She gestured towards where a building had fallen forward and into the street, all of its windows shattered, while rescue teams worked to find if any people were trapped underneath. Nearby many cars had been ripped in half and flattened in unimaginable ways; twisted metal, broken glass and faint stains of blood were littered throughout the streets as the camera panned across.

The image quickly went black as the television was shut off and a deep voice chuckled in amusement. The figure stood and walked over towards a small desk on the other side of the room that was illuminated by a tiny, flickering lamp.

He shuffled some papers around, grunted and began drumming his fingers on the desk, his mind working furiously. He picked up some strangely shaped machines, eyeing them closely before grinning in delight.

"Yes.. everything is ready." He finally said, before placing the objects down and scratching his chin in deep thought.

He then opened a drawer and began sifting through various tools and gadgets, pulling out a strange looking wrench before turning and walking briskly towards a large shadowy machine across the room.

Several of the papers on his desk flew to the floor in his haste, but he just growled in annoyance and ignored it as he began perfecting this mysterious new creation.

The mess of papers covering the floor looked to be blueprints. Blueprints for something fantastic. Something huge and unimaginable. And not just one, but many machines were sketched all over these sheets of paper. It looked as though it had taken weeks to perfect, for the design and blueprint were ingenious.

* * *

While he worked later and later into the night, the rescue teams worked nonstop uncovering debris and recording the casualties. The dark streets were wet with the recent rain, creating many black puddles along the curbs and leaving behind a gloomy feeling in the air.

One puddle, however, was thick almost like oil, a mixture of black and white seeping towards a nearby manhole and slowly dripping into the sewers below. The lifeless substance soon disappeared below the streets, seemingly stripped of all its power, dead, concealed underneath the city.

However, a very faint, untraceable pulsating energy was still hiding inside it's sticky, slimy, outer-coating. An energy which should soon fade away forever, consumed by the black shadows below.

But miles away, one is scheming. Planning, plotting, laboring to ensure that this great evil power shall not die so soon.

The raging storm has now passed eastward, and the danger seems to have faded away.

Don't rest assured, City of Townsville, for this danger is far from over.

The End ...?

* * *

Hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. :o) Thank you muchly for reading and I will write more eventually.


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